Seal and Marine Mammal Entanglement: Ghost Fishing Gear and Welfare
Lost or abandoned fishing gear — ghost gear — continues to catch and kill marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish long after being lost. Marine mammal entanglement causes drowning, injury, and slow death, making ghost gear removal a significant welfare priority.
Key Facts
An estimated 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is lost or abandoned in the world's oceans annually
Ghost gear continues to fish for years to decades after being lost at sea
Grey and harbour seals, harbour porpoises, and common dolphins are regularly found entangled in UK waters
Disentanglement of live entangled marine mammals is a specialist skill requiring trained responders
Entangled animals may carry gear for weeks or months before rescuers intervene
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) coordinates marine mammal rescue in the UK
Biodegradable and pinged (acoustically marked) gear is being developed to reduce ghost fishing impact
Ghost gear removal expeditions recover tonnes of gear annually from both active fishing areas and remote sites
Welfare Considerations
Marine mammal entanglement in ghost fishing gear causes some of the most prolonged and distressing deaths in the marine environment. A seal with netting wrapped around its neck experiences progressive constriction as it grows, cutting through flesh over weeks or months. A porpoise entangled in a gill net drowns within minutes but may struggle terrifyingly before losing consciousness. The scale of this mortality — hundreds of thousands of marine mammals annually — makes ghost gear one of the most significant welfare emergencies in the ocean. Solutions exist at multiple levels: preventing gear loss through improved vessel equipment and regulation, incentivising gear return through deposit schemes, and actively removing existing ghost gear through targeted retrieval expeditions. Consumer demand for sustainably certified seafood creates market incentives for fisheries to adopt gear loss prevention practices.
What You Can Do
Report entangled marine mammals immediately to the BDMLR hotline (01825 765546) or local coastguard
Never attempt to disentangle an entangled marine mammal yourself — wait for trained responders
Support ghost gear retrieval organisations through donations and volunteering
Choose Marine Stewardship Council certified seafood from fisheries with gear loss reporting requirements
Advocate for mandatory gear marking and loss reporting in fishing regulations
Support development of biodegradable fishing gear alternatives
Report fishing gear loss or abandonment to relevant fishery enforcement authorities
Participate in beach cleans that include recovery of fishing gear fragments