Dozens of dead fish and birds found in abandoned net underwater

By Lauren Beavis

Dozens of birds and fish have died in a 400-meter-long stretch of abandoned fishing net.

Marine volunteers had to spend five hours removing the immense monofilament net from Plymouth Sound National Marine Park on Monday, April 21.

The net, which was found at Drake's Island, had entrapped and killed dozens of fish, shags, seabirds, crabs, and lobsters.

It is believed the birds drowned after becoming entangled whilst diving into the sea for the fish trapped in the net.

Luke Bullus, who is part of the Cornwall-based charity Fathoms Free, told the BBC: "It was honestly one of the worst ones we've done in quite a long time."

The team at Fathoms Free, a charity which protects marine wildlife and the environment for everyone's benefit by removing ALDFG (abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear) and other marine debris from the coastal waters of Cornwall and Devon, initially responded to a report from Devon and Severn IFCA concerning the abandoned monofilament net in Plymouth Sound that needed dealing with "as soon as possible".

In addition to the initial report from IFCA, the team said they also received some images from a concerned member of the public showing a monofilament net tangled over rock and disappearing into the water.

Luke said: "The net stretched across the sea floor for over 400 metres, and was snagged on rocks and kelp along its entire length, which, along with the tidal flow, really tested the team's skills, experience, and stamina.

"With a team of divers in the water and another team on the surface, the progress was slow and steady."

The dedicated volunteers worked "relentlessly" for hours all afternoon and into the evening to safely recover the net and free the marine life that was still alive.

Tangled in the net, which stretched hundreds of meters underwater, were dead birds, including shags, and an oystercatcher.

There were also dozens of lobsters of all sizes, dozens of edible and spider crabs of all sizes, wrasse, cat sharks, bull huss, and "countless decomposing fish" that were unidentifiable due to the condition they were in - acting as bait to the other marine life in the area.

Luke said: "Our hard-working volunteers freed dozens of animals from all species, but many more were sadly not so lucky."

Luke added the challenge was emotionally and physically tasking for all the team.

The term ghost gear refers to fishing equipment which is lost or discarded of in the ocean.

According to the WWF report 'Stop Ghost Gear: The most deadly form of marine plastic debris', between 500,000 and 1,000,000 tons of fishing gear are entering the ocean every year.

Ghost gear can continue killing marine life for decades or even centuries after it first enters the ocean.