Discarded fishing gear is endangering wildlife in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay between India and Sri Lanka—now researchers are talking to fishers to find out what can be done.
There are thought to be more than 4,000 species (including corals, seagrasses, mangroves and reef fish) in this 12,000-square-kilometre protected area, located between the northwestern and northern coasts of Sri Lanka and the Southeastern coast of India.
Hafsa Jamel, program manager at the Lanka Environment Fund says that marine litter from fisheries represent a major threat to marine environments in the Gulf of Mannar and the southern part of Palk Bay and is expected to keep getting more severe.
“Abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear or ALDFG, is a persistent problem for a country with a reliance on its coastal fisheries for protein and its seafood industry,” they say, adding that these areas are important breeding and fishing ground for species including marine turtles and the dugong.
The researchers collected and analysed marine litter from 12 locations in India and five in Sri Lanka, as well as interviewed 343 Indian and 125 Sri Lankan fishermen in the area to understand their perceptions about marine litter.
They found that abandoned or otherwise discarded fishing gear made up half of litter items and nearly three-quarters of total litter weight on Indian shores, and 41% of items and 40% of the weight on Sri Lankan shores.
Source: forbes.com
