Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Ghost fishing capacity of lost experimental gillnets: a preliminary study from Indian waters

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear contributes considerably to global marine debris. These lost gears, mostly made of non-biodegradable synthetic materials, persist in the marine environment for longer periods of time and pose a great threat to marine life by entangling and killing target fishes and other non-target species such as turtles, birds, and mammals, a phenomenon known as ghost fishing. Other environmental impacts include physical impacts on aquatic habitats, transfer of microplastics into food web, and interference with fishing. Information regarding the catching efficiency and catch rates of lost nets in Indian waters is lacking. Ghost fishing capacity of simulated lost gillnets is being reported for the first time in India. This study investigates the ghost fishing capacity of lost gillnets through an experimental approach at Aroor, Vembanad lake, Kerala, India. Simulation studies using purposefully abandoned shrimp gillnets (32 mm mesh size) were conducted to understand the fishing capacity of lost gillnets during two seasons (monsoon and post-monsoon) as separate experiments. The gillnets maintained their catching efficiency until the 15th day during the first experiment and up to the 50th day in the second experiment. Catches showed an exponential reduction over time in both experiments. A total of 251 specimens comprising of 27 species were caught from both sets of experimental nets, and the state of catch in the nets showed different decaying stages from the second day itself along with fresh stages. As the days progressed, particulate matter and detritus began to accumulate on the experimental nets, increasing net visibility and reducing their catching efficiency. The results of the study on ghost fishing capability will contribute to the development of strategies for reducing the effects of lost nets on the aquatic ecosystem and for suggesting improved management strategies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akiyama S, Saito E, Watanabe T (2007) Relationship between soak time and number of enmeshed animals in experimentally lost gillnets. Fish Sci 73:881–888. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1444-2906.2007.01409.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Asha CV, Cleetus RI, Suson P, Nandan BS (2015) Environmental factors structuring the fish assemblage distribution and production potential in Vembanad estuarine system. India Int J Mar Sci 5(23):1–13. https://doi.org/10.5376/ijms.2015.05.0023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Athira M (2019) Friend of marine life on exploring the marine ecosystem. https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/friends-of-marine-life-is-out-to-bring-a-sea-changearticle/26598057.ece. Accessed 26 November 2020

  • Ayaz A, Acarli D, Altinagac U, Ozekinci U, Kara A, Ozen O (2006) Ghost fishing by monofilament and multifilament gillnets in Izmir Bay, Turkey. Fish Res 79:267–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2006.03.029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baeta F, Costa M, Cabral H (2009) Trammel nets ghost fishing off the Portuguese central coast. Fish Res 98:33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2009.03.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhupathy S, Saravanan S (2006) Marine turtles of Tamil Nadu. In: Shanker K, Choudhury BC (eds) Marine turtles of the Indian subcontinent. Universities Press, Hyderabad, pp 58–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Bullimore BA, Newman PB, Kaiser MJ, GilbertLock SEKM (2001) A study of catches in a fleet of ghost-fishing pots. Fish Bull 99:247–253

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr HA (1987) Impact on non-degradable marine debris on the ecology and survival outlook of sea turtles. Mar Pollut Bull 18:352–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-26X(87)80025-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carr HA, Cooper RA, (1987) Manned submersible and ROV assessment of ghost gillnets in the Gulf of Maine, In: Proceedings on oceans 87, the ocean - an international workplace. Conference. Canada, 2 984–986. https://doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS.1987.1160764

  • Carr H, Blott A, Caruso P (1992) A study of ghost gillnets in the inshore waters of southern New England. In: Proceedings of the conference on global ocean partnership, MTS 92. Marine Technology Society, Washington, pp 361–367

  • Erzini K, Monteiro CC, Ribeiro J, Santos MN, Gasper M, Monteiro P, Borges TC (1997) An experimental study of gill net and trammel net ghost fishing off the Algarve (southern Portugal). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 158:257–265. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps158257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2017) Proceedings of the expert workshop on estimating food loss and wasted resources from gillnet and trammel net fishing operations. In: Petri S et al (eds), FAO fisheries and aquaculture proceedings 44. Rome. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6675e.pdf

  • Gilman E, Humberstone J, Wilson JR, Chassot E, Jackson A, Suuronen P (2022) Matching fishery-specific drivers of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear to relevant interventions. Mar Policy 141:105097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2022.10509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson JR (1984) Encounters of Hawaiian monk seals with fishing gear at Lisianski Island, 1982. Mar Fish Rev 46:59–61

    Google Scholar 

  • High WL (1985) Some consequences of lost fishing, gear. In: Shomura RS, Yoshida H (eds) Proceedings of workshop on the fate and impact of marine debris, 26–29 November 1984. NOAA, Hawai, pp 430–437

  • Humborstad O, Løkkeborg S, Hareide N, Furevik D (2003) Catches of Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) in deepwater ghost-fishing gillnets on the Norwegian continental slope. Fish Res 64:163–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00215-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James PSBR, Mohan RSL (1987) The Marine Mammals of India. Mar Fish Infor Serv Ser 71:1–13

  • Jayaprakash AA, Nammalwar P, Krishnapillai S, Elayath MNK (1995) Incidental bycatch of dolphins at Fisheries Harbour, Cochin, with a note on their conservation and management in India. J Mar Biol Assoc India 37:126–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser MJ, Bullimore B, Newman P, Lock K, Gilbert S (1996) Catches in ghost fishing set nets. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 145:11–16. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps145011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamat P (2019) Turtles wrapped in nets wash ashore in Goa, saved. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/turtles-wrapped-in-nets-wash-ashore-in-goa-saved/article28078272.ece. Accessed August 2021

  • Laist D (1997) Impacts of marine debris: entanglement of debris in marine life including comprehensive list of species with entanglement and ingestion records. In: Coe JM, Rogers DB (eds) Marine debris sources, impacts and solutions. Springer, New York, pp 99–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8486-1-10

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Laist D (1995) Marine debris entanglement and ghost fishing: a cryptic and significant type of bycatch. In: Proceedings of the solving bycatch workshop, September 25–27 1995, Seattle, pp 33–39

  • Macfadyen G, Huntington T, Cappel R (2009) Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear. UNEP regional seas reports and studies no. 185. FAO fisheries and aquaculture technical paper (523), Rome, pp. 115. https://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0620e/i0620e00.htm

  • Matsushita Y, Honda N, Fujita K, Watanabe T (2004) Time series changes in gillnets abandoned at shallow water. Bull Fish Res Agen 10:15–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Menon NN, Balchand AN, Menon NR (2000) Hydrobiology of the Cochin backwater system-a review. Hydrobiologia 430:149–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohan RSL (1982) A note on the foetus of the dolphins Tursiops aduncus and Sousa plumbea from the southwest coast of India. Indian J Fish 29:249–252

    Google Scholar 

  • Nammalwar P, Lipton AP, Krishnapillai S, Maheswarudu G, Kasinathan C, Bose M, Ramamoorthy N, Thillairajan P (1994) Instances of finless black porpoise, Neophocaena phocoenoides caught Mandapam region along the Palk Bay coast in Tamil Nadu. Mar Fish Infor Serv Ser 127:16–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Nammalwar P, Rajapackiam S, Rajan S (2002) On a false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens (Owen) caught at Ennore along the Chennai coast. Mar Fish Infor Serv Ser 173:1−2

  • Nandan BS, Jayachandran PR, Sreedevi OK (2012) Temporal pattern of fish production in a microtidal tropical estuary in the south-west coast of India. Indian J Fish 59:17–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandan BS (2008) Current status and biodiversity modification in the coastal wetland ecosystems of India with objectives for its sustainable management. In: Proceedings of conserve-vision conference. The University of Waikato, pp. 1–2

  • Ozyurt CE, Buyukdeveci F, Kiyaga VB (2017) Ghost fishing effects of lost bottom trammel nets in a storm: a simulation. Fres Environ Bull 26:8109–8118

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pawson MG (2003) The catching capacity of lost static fishing gears: introduction. Fish Res 64:101–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00208-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prabhakar RVD, Pralaya RB, Loveson LE, Jeyabaskaran R (2014) Accidental catch of long-snouted spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris (Gray, 1828) at Dummulapeta, Andhra Pradesh. Mar Fish Infor Serv Ser 220:7–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Revill A, Dunlin G (2003) The fishing capacity of gillnets lost on wrecks and on open ground in UK coastal waters. Fish Res 64:107–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00209-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sancho G, Puente E, Bilbao A, Gomez E, Arregi L (2003) Catch rates of monkfish (Lophius spp.) by lost tangle nets in the Cantabrian Sea (northern Spain). Fish Res 64:129–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00212-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos M, Saldanha H, Gaspar M, Monteiro C (2003) Hake (Merluccius merluccius) ghost fishing by gill nets off the Algarve (southern Portugal). Fish Res 64:119–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00211-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos M, Gaspar M, Monteiro C (2009) Ghost fishing on by-catch species from a gill net hake fishery. Fish Manage Ecol 16:72–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2400.2008.00642.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takagi T, Shimizu T, Korte H (2007) Evaluating the impact of gillnet ghost fishing using a computational analysis of the geometry of fishing gear. ICES J Mar Sci 64:1517–1524. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsm097

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SN (2019) Sustainable gillnet fishing. In: Edwin L et al (eds) Responsible fishing: recent advances in resource & energy conservation ICAR Winter school manual. Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi Kerala, pp 239–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SN, Sandhya KM, Harsha K (2019) Ghost gear retrieval attempts from Enayam coast of Tamil Nadu. Fish Tech Rep 5(1):5–16

  • Thomas SN, Edwin L, Chinnadurai S, Harsha K, Salagrama V, Prakash R, Prajith KK, Diei-Ouadi Y, He P, Ward A (2020) Food and gear loss from selected gillnet and trammel net fisheries of India. FAO, fisheries and aquaculture circular number 1204. Rome, pp. 12–13. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8382en

  • Tschernij V, Larsson PO (2003) Ghost fishing by lost cod gill nets in the Baltic Sea. Fish Res 64:151–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-7836(03)00214-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walmiki N, Deepti S, Priti K (2016) Aquatic diversity with reference to phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos in Lake Vembanad, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Res J Mar Sci 4:1–10

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, India, for his support and permission to publish this paper. We acknowledge the cooperation and support from the fishermen at Aroor, Vembanad lake, for conducting the field studies.

Funding

The study was funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Extramural Research Project Fund, New Delhi, India, through the project, “Investigations on ghost fishing by derelict traps and gill nets in selected areas of Indian waters and mitigation measures” (Grant No. 4–59/2015-ASR-I).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Kochi, Kerala, 682029, India

    Saly N. Thomas, Sandhya Kavitha Mandhir, Harsha Krishnankutty, Mary Baby K. A. & Aishwarya Ghosh K. A.

Authors
  1. Saly N. Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sandhya Kavitha Mandhir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Harsha Krishnankutty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mary Baby K. A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Aishwarya Ghosh K. A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Saly N. Thomas: conceptualization, writing—review and editing, supervision. Sandhya Kavitha Mandhir: compilation, data analysis, writing. Harsha Krishnankutty: investigation, field data collection. Mary Baby: field data collection, tabulation. Aishwarya Ghosh: field data collection.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandhya Kavitha Mandhir.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: V.V.S.S. Sarma

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Thomas, S.N., Mandhir, S.K., Krishnankutty, H. et al. Ghost fishing capacity of lost experimental gillnets: a preliminary study from Indian waters. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 40062–40072 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-25029-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-25029-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation