Choosing a topic for your dissertation is a daunting task. So daunting that I put off deciding for my masters degree way beyond when I should have already started putting pen to paper (yes, I do still hand write the beginning of my essays). Dancing around what to focus on, I considered the impact of seismic surveys on marine mammals, the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, overfishing in British waters post-Brexit, and also the repercussions of plastic pollution in the ocean. But while dipping into academic research and conservation reports to weigh my options, a staggering figure stuck in my mind and jolted me into action.
300,000.
Research suggests that over 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises are killed in fishing gear entanglements every year. This marks it as the single biggest threat cetaceans face. Scarily, the real figure is likely to be even higher due to the difficulty of recording such incidents. The majority go unreported. It’s not just cetaceans who are affected either.
Every year, over one thousand turtles succumb to their injuries from entanglement in fishing nets, fishing gear and plastic packaging. With an unknown number of seals, sea lions, and seabirds experiencing the same painful end too.
Which species are at risk?
Larger marine mammals are likely to experience at least one entanglement in their life, as monitoring of their scarred and battered skin shows. Prone to getting caught in active or ‘ghost’* gear, they often thrash around for hours, if not days, trying to escape being pinned to the seabed. Trying to escape towing the masses of their incarceration.
One would think smaller marine mammals like the Vaquita porpoise or the Hector dolphin could avoid being snared. Due to their size they could easily wriggle free of any confinement, right? But bycatch is another great danger to marine life and certainly no less threatening. Distinguished from entanglements, bycatch is the unwanted catch trapped in commercial fishing nets which are targeting a different species. Smaller marine mammals are susceptible as they’re a similar size to the targeted species. They also have a tendency to swim close to the shore where fishing gear is especially dense.
A severe increase in marine mammal mortality rates in recent years show the impact entanglements have had on their health and welfare. Once caught, fatalities occur within minutes or days. For those who manage to escape, their sustained injuries can last a lifetime and lead to stress-induced effects and social implications as they continue to suffer from infections.
Entanglement in fishing gear is a great threat to all non-targeted marine species but an even greater one to those who are already endangered. For the North Atlantic right whale or the Vaquita porpoise, the consequences of being caught are disastrous for the few left in the wild. Though no species is any more or less important than another, it is worth keeping in mind the urgency with which we need to act, to fight for their protection.
What is already being done to protect marine life?
The call to action to reduce ocean entanglements has been made many times, and has inspired some promising solutions. In writing the 15,000 words of my dissertation and conducting research on the necessary regulations to protect marine mammals (cetaceans, specifically) from entanglements, I came across these solutions and the efforts already being made by many countries. Here are just a few.
Stakeholder collaboration
A significant contribution to entanglement reduction plans comes from the research conducted by the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA). The acronym is a happy coincidence I’m sure. Their 2021 report on the impact of Scottish creel fisheries on marine animals plainly recommends gathering the knowledge of local fishermen and their experience with entanglements to address the issue. By collaborating with those who have first hand accounts, proactive suggestions can be made and trialled. The SEA questionnaire completed by local fishermen deduced the following solutions; gear modification to reduce the quantity of ropes in the water, ropeless technologies, the sinking of ground lines and the uptake of lower breaking strengths in ropes. Making changes to the design and techniques of fishing gear could keep fisheries active and marine life alive, simultaneously.
Over on the other side of the world, the Indonesian fisheries ministry is applying their own ingenuity to clean up our oceans. Alongside ‘ghost’ fishing gear, entanglement in plastic debris is another culprit of causing injury and death among marine life. As part of their initiative to clear up 70% of Indonesia’s marine plastic pollution, the four-week programme will see fishermen paid to remove plastic from the ocean. In return they have to collect at least 4 kg worth of rubbish. A trial of sorts but still a great achievement for Indonesia (as one of the biggest ocean plastic polluters). An added bonus for our fishy friends who will be able to swim a little more freely. Incentives such as these are easily applicable to all fisheries so well done to Indonesia for leading by example 👏
Full cohesion in marine conservation has yet to be cracked but communication between stakeholders allows for opportunities of multilateral innovation and direct action.
Technology
Another channel of entanglement mitigation is the scope and progression that technology can bring to the table.
In Cornwall, fishermen were noticing a reduction in bycatch and entanglements of whales, dolphins and porpoise when they used pingers on their nets. Pingers are a cost-effective and practical acoustic device which attaches at intervals along a fishing net, intermittently releasing a high-pitch signal. They are an ideal deterrent for smaller cetaceans, as studies have shown they have an aversion to the noise. Staying well clear of the nets. All was plain sailing until the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), who issued the licences for pingers, received concerns and advice which divided the argument on their positive effects.
Cornish fishermen maintained their argument for the use of pingers. Supporting them, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) organisation funded research which revealed that 37% of porpoise living off the coast of Cornwall were less likely to be found in areas close to active pingers. The research is there and it supports the successful effect of pingers but it is not quite enough. More evidence is needed to prove to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) that cetaceans will not eventually habituate to pingers and that it will not cause them to desert the area entirely.
And until then no permits to use pingers will be released. A frustrating hurdle to be stuck on as a like-minded alliance between marine conservationists and fishermen is cut short on this occasion. Still, studies such as these are a gateway to the legal requirement of a safe and effective deterrent on every fishing net as a way to protect marine life from entanglements around the world.
Take the Australian government branch, the Australian Fisheries Management Authorities (AFMA), for example. They were proactive in their pingers research, conducting a controlled experiment to test a variety of pingers and their effects on different species. Is it possible that the research conducted in Cornwall is not considering multiple variations of pingers and/or multiple cetacean species? Something to ponder. If those within marine conservation can begin to align global research on pingers many lives could be saved.
Regulation
Making data based decisions is also key when looking at regulation and conservation programmes. At international conferences, nations will often make serious pledges to protect wildlife and marine life from the effects of climate change. They will initiate research and collect data, but make no real commitment to changing regulation or installing worthwhile conservation projects based on the findings. Some may undertake small localised programs but international, ocean-wide application and cohesion is crucial. Taking the collected data and trialling a variety of methods to protect marine life is the quickest and most effective way to apply proactive regulations.
Take the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (thankfully, this is usually shortened to the NOAA) for example. Their regional projects apply the science from research to create regulations that reduce the bycatch of butterfish by more than 65%. Funding was used to create a communication network and a real-time map so that fishermen of the longfin squid could avoid butterfish hotspots. When data showed an abundance of butterfish being caught as bycatch by fishermen, the NOAA introduced these innovative solutions as part of their Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. Using science to inform their regulations and protect marine life made a huge impact.
What is Beached hoping for?
The risk entanglements pose to marine life and the masses of deadly fishing gear and plastic debris in the ocean cannot be underestimated. There is still much to be done.
In creating Beached, I am hopeful that alliances can be supported in efforts to protect marine life. My aim is to create a single space where academics, governments, NGOs, activists, and anyone who cares about ocean life can follow the development of marine conservation in real time. By providing all stakeholders an easy place to stay abreast of each others’ work, I hope we can foster improved collaboration and coordination to ignite the ideas that will save marine life from entanglements and beyond. Beached can provide the space for innovative and proactive conversations.
So how are we going to do this? Beached will cover the latest conservation projects, academic research, environmental news, regulation changes, cutting edge technology, and more. I hope you’ll join our humble community and click subscribe for free or support our work by purchasing the paid subscription. The whales appreciate it 🐳
Now let’s go save some ocean 🌊
* Ghost gear is a term used to refer to the discarded, lost or abandoned lines, nets, buoys and ropes that catch and kill an immeasurable amount of marine life every year.