Ghost gear: the silent killer of whales, seals, and sea turtles

More than one million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year and endanger animals like sea turtles, whales, seals, seabirds, and dolphins. One all too common source of plastic pollution is from lost or discarded fishing gear. Abandoned ropes, lines, and nets float aimlessly through the ocean and become entangled around any animals that happen to be in their path.

Entanglements are often a death sentence for marine animals-a slow, painful one, at that. It kills hundreds of thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles worldwide every year.

That's why IFAW is working around the world to promote preventative measures that will protect marine life-and we're also on the frontlines of pioneering entanglement response.

How does entanglement impact animals?

Fishing gear, both abandoned and actively used, can restrict animals from eating, causing them to starve, or prevent them from swimming to the surface to breathe, leading to drowning.

With their swimming abilities impaired, some entangled animals are unable to avoid boats and ships, and they die from vessel strikes. Entangled animals can also suffer injuries from the fishing gear wrapping around them so tightly that it cuts into their skin, muscle, and bone. These wounds can lead to serious infections and death.

While smaller animals like turtles, seals, porpoises, and dolphins might drown immediately when stuck in large, heavy gear, larger whales may be more likely to suffer from exhaustion and infection. Death by entanglement could take weeks, months, or even years.

What types of animals are impacted by entanglements?

Entanglement is a major issue for all marine mammals, especially cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises). It's estimated that 300,000 cetaceans die every year from entanglement.

Of the about 370 remaining critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, more than 85% have experienced at least one entanglement in their lives. Not all of these are caused by ghost gear-often, they become tangled in fishing gear that's actively being used. Many of these whales are still entangled in ropes and lines, as it is extremely difficult to disentangle a large whale. IFAW's experts are some of only a handful of organisations licensed to disentangle North Atlantic right whales.