Lost and abandoned fishing gear continues to entangle and kill sea turtles for years after being lost, representing a persistent and growing threat.
Sea turtles entangled in ghost gear face drowning from inability to surface, or slow death from entanglement injuries and exhaustion. Unlike active fishing gear where mortality is at least observed, ghost gear operates invisibly with no opportunity for intervention. Ghost gear removal programs reduce the stock of dangerous gear and rescue actively entangled animals. Gear marking and tracking technology enables recovery before gear becomes ghost gear.