Tag Archives: Trash in the Ocean
Fishing Community Tackles Trash in the Ocean
Fishing gear is not the biggest contributor to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” or other accumulations of trash in the ocean, but derelict gear left at sea after a fishing season does create problems. In California, the fishing community itself is creating a solution that improves the health of species and the environment, and the involvement and viability of local communities. There is typically no by-catch with pot fishing, said Andy Guiliano, a Dungeness crab fisherman from Emeryville, California. In Guiliano’s perspective, this makes the Dungeness crab fishery an environmentally friendly fishery. But Guiliano’s experience has tested this outlook. “The only Achilles’ heel is, inevitably, gear gets lost during the season,” Guiliano admitted — gear amounting to hundreds of crab pots as well as nets that can affect boat propellers and large whales. click here to read the story 08:42
