World Animal Protection is asking divers and other ocean lovers to buddy up and report or collect the ghost gear they find when at the beach or on a dive. Globally over 500 divers have registered their dives with World Animal Protection.
Today, Friday 5 June World Animal Protection led a beach clean up at Kyeemagh Beach in Sydney that was attended by over 30 World Animal Protection staff and volunteers.
Divers and ocean lovers are requested to upload photos of this ghost gear to the campaign’s interactive website at: www.worldanimalprotection.org/seachange
The photos and information will be used to move governments and industry to take action to remove and prevent ghost gear ending up in our seas. The charity encourages Buddy Up participants to safely remove and clean up the ghost gear where found.
Nicola Beynon, Head of Campaigns at World Animal Protection said: “Ghost gear is one of the biggest threats to sea life. Whales, seals, turtles and birds suffer slow and agonising deaths when they become trapped in ghost nets.
“We’re calling for divers to Buddy Up to remove ghost gear and help save the lives of marine animals.”
The scale of the problem
- An estimated 640,000 tonnes of ‘ghost fishing gear’ lost or discarded in our oceans each year
- The impact of ghost gear can last for centuries as the plastic from which it is made stays in the oceans for up to 600 years
Other Sea Change activities for World Oceans Day include:
- North America – A massive clean-up effort off the coast of the US State of Maine has already resulted in the collection of more than half a ton of ghost gear and the release of over 125 marine animals including lobsters (several of whom were carrying eggs) back into local waters. Divers and marine enthusiasts will be encouraged to snap photos of ghost gear and upload sightings to World Animal Protection’s global online map.
- Thailand - Divers and other marine users will be encouraged to take part in Buddy Up and participate in dive removals in popular coastal areas.
- UK – Supporters will be asked to write to the Fisheries Minister asking for ‘ghost gear’ to be a priority concern and make a coordinated effort to engage coastal MPs into taking action and demanding change.
Participants can register online at www.worldanimalprotection.org/buddy-up and pledge to take action by recruiting friends to clean and remove marine litter from a beach or dive spot on the weekend of 5-7 June, or by simply reporting sightings of any ghost gear by uploading findings and photos to the Sea Change map.
