In the waters of Bay of Bengal off Visakhapatnam coast, a ‘ghostly’ menace is threatening the existence of several marine species, some critically endangered. Ghost net is fishing gear which are lost, voluntarily abandoned or dumped at sea by fishermen. These inevitably go on to kill marine life for several years, making it the most deadly form of marine plastic debris.
With an aim to address this growing issue, Visakhapatnam-based Greenwaves Environmental Solutions is working on á project called ‘Ghost Gear Upcycling’ at coastal Andhra Pradesh along with WWF India. The project, initiated in Visakhapatnam in June 2021, upcycles these ghost nets to make products like bracelets, pouches, doormats and pots. “The concept of upcycling fish nets is aimed at reducing the impact of marine pollution and also provides alternative livelihoods for fisherwomen,” says Honey Seles, Greenwaves Marine Litter Project in-charge.
The organisation is doing this with the help of fisherfolk communities, through awareness programmes, surveys and workshops. “We are also collecting discarded fishnets with the involvement of fishing community at identified mending sites in Visakhapatnam,” says Anil Potluri of Ghost net is fishing gear which are lost, voluntarily abandoned or dumped at sea by fishermen. These inevitably go on to kill marine life for several years, making it the most deadly form of marine plastic debris.
The discarded fish nets and glass bottles collected during beach clean-ups are untangled and segregated as per type, size and colour. The segregated nets are soaked for a day in water and then dried to remove odour, mud and other waste. The cleaned nets are upcycled as per the type: Nylon nets are upcycled into bracelets with wooden beads and bags of different colours; hand nets are upcycled into earrings and key chains; and landing nets are upcycled into bottle hangers and bags.
Since June, the team has collected nearly 1.5 tonnes of ghost net gear along the Visakhapatnam coast. “The situation is alarming in the region. We have been working on it since last December. What we realised is that unless a proper awareness plan is set up, the issue will keep compounding,” says Anil.
Incidentally, Visakhapatnam is one of the important nesting sites for the Olive Ridley Turtles that are frequently spotted dead along the coast as a result of getting entangled in fishing nets. Other marine creatures like sharks that fall prey to ghost nets, take over 20 years to gain maturity and reproduce.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that at least eight million tons of plastic waste are discarded into the ocean every year. This is said to be 80% of the marine debris. And ghost nets, since they are made of non-bio-degradable material like nylon, make the issue even more grave.
Through this project, Greenwave aims to help fisherfolk implement simple everyday measures such as not dumping old fishing gear in the ocean, moving away from fishing zones that regularly trap fishing line or nets, and ensuring that fishing ropes are responsibly discarded.
