Lost and abandoned fishing gear and related debris

Ilse Kiessling (National Oceans Office of Australia) highlighted the importance of addressing root causes for lost fishing gear and described how her country was dealing with the problem of derelict fishing gear at the national and regional levels.

Thomas Cowan (Director, Northwest Straits Commission) explained how the derelict fishing gear removal project of the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative addressed the location and removal of such gear.

No regular regional or national scientific data is available on lost or discarded fishing gear.

Fishing gear can inflict lethal cuts and wounds on fish and marine wildlife.

Lately, lost and abandoned fishing gear has increasingly become a worldwide high profile nuisance.

The fish detection equipment present on board also changes according to which fishing gear is being used.

Lost or abandoned fishing gear is a significant and very persistent form of marine litter. It poses a threat to the marine environment, as well as to human life and activities.

In addition, lost or abandoned gear can continue trapping fish for a long period out of the fisherman's control.

Within the broader scope of marine litter, the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear requires more specific and sectoral solutions.

Recognizing also the need for appropriate measures to address lost or abandoned gear, including catches by derelict fishing gear, which adversely affects, inter alia, fish stocks and habitats,

It is estimated that some 100,000 marine mammals die every year from entanglement or ingestion of fishing gear and related marine debris.

The following are reports received from individual regional seas programmes on their respective activities vis à vis the problems of marine litter and abandoned fishing gear.

Recognizing also the need for appropriate measures to address lost or abandoned gear, including catches by derelict fishing gear, which adversely affect inter alia fish stocks and habitats,

Multipurpose vessels are vessels which are designed so they can deploy more than one type of fishing gear without major modifications to the vessels.

The view was expressed by some delegations that there was a need for States to support targeted studies to determine the factors that motivate the loss and disposal of fishing gear at sea.

The commercial fishers comprise about 300 boats, with 50 per cent of the fishers owning their fishing gear and the remainder acting as helpers or employees of the gear owners.

Based on recent entanglement studies, estimates suggest that about 1,500 seals die from entanglement each year in Australia (Page et al., 2003).

Recognizing the need for appropriate measures to minimize waste, discards, loss of fishing gear and other factors, which adversely affect fish stocks,

Quantifying the loss of marine resources owing to ghost nets is difficult, but several studies on static gears have shown it to be about 10 per cent of the target population.

81. Encourages States to raise awareness within their fishing sector and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements of the issue of derelict fishing gear and related marine debris and to identify options for action

82. Encourages the Committee on Fisheries to consider the issue of derelict fishing gear and related marine debris at its next meeting in 2007, and in particular the implementation of relevant provisions of the Code

Workshop equipment 25.0

Communications equipment 133.3

Observation equipment 72.0

Accommodation equipment 120.0

H. Other equipment

Mining equipment imports

Further encourages States to raise awareness within their fishing sector and subregional and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements of the issue of derelict fishing gear and related marine debris and to identify options for action

Net fishing

The rate of bycatch in the Atlantic longline fleet, for example, was found to be one half of the total catch.

Workshop and test equipment 15.0

But his company was now making powerlifting equipment to make up for the sales it had lost on Olympic style equipment.

__TOC__ Fisheries research Fisheries research vessels (FRVs) require platforms which are capable of towing different types of fishing nets, collecting plankton or water samples from a range of depths, and carrying acoustic fish finding equipment.

He likes to hunt.

He likes fishing.

Fishing overcapacity

Data processing equipment 10.5

3. Workshop equipment 25 000

1. Communications equipment 133 300

2. Observation equipment 72 000

3. Accommodation equipment 120 000

5. Miscellaneous equipment 10 000

There are no provisions for acquisition of equipment.

The Panel has obtained documents and photographs showing that mining equipment has been imported into Liberia disguised as farm equipment.