Ten Animals Impacted by Ghost Gear

Lost and abandoned fishing gear, commonly known as “ghost gear,” is the most harmful form of marine debris to wildlife. Commonly made from modern plastics, such as nylon or polyethylene, fishing gear is designed to capture the seafood that ends up on our plates.

No fisherman ever wants to lose their gear—it’s expensive, and the means by which they harvest seafood to feed their families and the rest of the world. But when the gear is lost—whether through entanglement on a rocky sea floor or an unexpected storm that blows fixed gear off course—the gear can continue to capture and entangle wildlife, even while no longer in use.

Fortunately,  Ocean Conservancy’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) works alongside fishermen and global experts to find solutions to this global problem. This year, we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary of the GGGI. Dive in to see how ghost gear might affect your favorite marine species:

1. Fish

The most obvious animal impacted by lost fishing gear—fish. Estimates vary by species and fishery, but one assessment of Norwegian Greenland Halibut found that stocks declined by as much as 30% annually due to the impact of ghost gear. That means 30% fewer fish for fishermen to harvest, leaving them with less money in their pockets and leaving people with less food accessibility.

2. Lobster

In the United States and Canada, most lobster traps are made from metal coated with Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)-coated metal, a synthetic plastic polymer known for its durability and affordability which is designed to last in harsh marine conditions. A lost lobster trap can continue to trap lobsters and other species for an indefinite amount of time; this happens when a trapped lobster dies, thus becoming the bait for more hungry creatures. Many fisheries—including the American Lobster fishery in Maine—require an “escape door” that activates after a set amount of time to allow animals to escape if the trap is lost, a best practice for reducing the impact of lost fishing gear. However, if the door is too small or doesn’t activate, lobsters and other animals can still get caught. GGGI has worked with lobster fisheries in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and the U.S. to trial new technologies that aim to reduce the impact of lost lobster traps.

3. Birds

Birds may not be the first animals that come to mind when you think of the ocean, but seabirds are important marine species providing a crucial link between air and sea. In a survey of 5,000 derelict fishing nets removed from the Puget Sound, researchers tallied 25,000 birds among the ensnared animals. This is because seabirds often flock to fishing vessels attracted to the bait meant for fish. Fortunately, fishermen understand that keeping birds away from their bait is in their own economic interest, and many solutions (including streamer lines or line weighting) have been developed to help keep birds safe from active fishing gear.

4. Crabs

Similar to lobsters, crabs are typically caught using large traps that sit on the sea floor. If lost, the traps can continue to capture commercially important species, impacting fishermen and people who depend on seafood as an important food source. In the Chesapeake Bay, there are an estimated 145,000 derelict crab pots, which kill approximately 6 million crabs, 3.5 million white perch and 3.6 million Atlantic croaker annually. But researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science have shown that efforts to remove derelict pots have increased harvests around the Bay and put an extra $33.5 million in the pockets of Bay crabbers.

5. Sharks

Among the ocean’s top predators, healthy shark populations are essential for a healthy ocean. That’s why in 2013, scientists were stunned to find a “major, previously unknown source of shark mortality: entanglement in drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs),” many of which  dangle netting in the water column to attract fish. This study found that the number of entanglement deaths for silky sharks is likely similar to the actual allowable catch for these sharks. Basically, these entangling FADs are catching as many silky sharks as fishermen, essentially doubling the number of sharks impacted each year. This has major implications for the conservation of this species.

6. Whales

The International Whaling Commission estimates that more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die annually as a result of bycatch and entanglement in fishing gear, including both lost and actively deployed gear. In the U.S. alone, 95 large whales were confirmed entangled in 2024, including bowhead, fin, humpback, gray and North Atlantic right whales. Whale entanglements can also have disastrous financial consequences for fishermen who lose expensive fishing gear as it is dragged away by the large marine mammals.

7. Vaquita porpoises

With just 10 individuals left in the wild, vaquita are the most endangered marine mammal in the world. Their decline is largely due to the use of illegal gillnets when targeting totoaba—a fish highly valued on the black market—in the northern Gulf of California in Mexico. Large-scale international conservation efforts have been made to save the vaquita through the removal of thousands of gillnets and the creation of a marine reserve, but the future of the vaquita remains uncertain, especially as the area opens up to fishing again.

8. Sea Turtles

Five out of seven species of sea turtles are considered threatened or endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, so it should be especially concerning that turtles are among the species most at-risk of bycatch and entanglement in ghost gear. A 2014 study identified more than 1,000 cases of stranded sea turtles involving fishing gear entanglement from 1997 to 2009 in Florida alone. However, efforts are being made in many global fisheries to protect turtles from bycatch, including requiring turtle excluder devices in trawl fisheries and trialing biodegradable materials for use in fish aggregating devices.

9. Seals

Much like the other species on this list, pinnipeds like seals and sea lions are also at risk of entanglement from fishing gear. Their curious nature means they sometimes approach lost gear to get a closer look, often ending up entangled. A 2024 study looking at Hawaiian monk seals found that plastic fishing gear components accounted for 76% of the items entangling the animals. Accumulations of abandoned fishing gear on land can also impact breeding behavior when it occurs in areas of critical habitat.

10. Corals

They may look like plants or rocks, but don’t be fooled—corals are animals.  Corals perform several important functions in the ocean and are especially important for coastal economies that depend on tourism dollars from divers, snorkelers and beachgoers. Nets and lines can damage a fragile reef’s structure by breaking off coral heads. This not only reduces reefs’ ability to support biodiversity but also disrupts food chains and limits them in performing other critical ecosystem support functions like protecting coasts from storm surges and contributing to nutrient cycling. Studies confirm increasing levels of broken coral, decreased coral cover and lower species diversity in areas where ghost gear is common.

But here is the good news: After 10 years working on this issue, the GGGI has many reasons to be hopeful. Chief among them is that there are solutions to this problem, and we’ve found a global community of fishermen, scientists, policymakers and ocean lovers who are eager to help us implement them. While this issue remains a pervasive threat to our ocean and the communities that rely on it, we’re inspired by the momentum that’s been created by our partners over the past 10 years. Learn more about our GGGI work here and join the movement to protect our ocean.