Ghost-Fishing Gear: Have Fishing Practices During the Past Few Years Reduced the Impact?

Abstract

Fish stocks are depressed worldwide. The resultant economic hardships on many fish- ermen have forced changes in fishing opera- tions and effort. In general, ,;ear use and losses in trap or pot fisheries appear to be increasing concurrent with a shift to more durable gear and designs. Modifications in trawl construction and operations have re- sulted in increased net damage and loss. Evi- dence from a number of locafions around the world indicates that recent demersal gillnet- ting practices are leaving more gear per fishing unit in the oceans; in some cases this lost gear is heavily concentrated' on produc- tive fishing grounds. These changes in tradi- tional gear types and fishing methods are Certainly increasing the potential for loss of Commercial and noncommercial species be- cause of ghost-fishing. With emphasis on New England area fish- eties, this paper reviews fishing operations and gear construction for trap (or pot), mo- bUe trawl, demersal gillnet, longline, jigging, weir, and pound net fisheries with regard to the ghost-fishing impact on marine fish, the benthos, and other maritime activities.