Ghost nets information

What are ghost nets?

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been abandoned at sea, lost accidentally, or deliberately
thrown away. They travel the oceans of the world with the currents and tides. As they travel
uncontrolled, they collect fish and other sea creatures, not only catching threatened species, but
undersized and protected creatures as well.

Percentage of total nets

Types of ghost nets found, 2009

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Bait nets

Gill nets

Purse Seine Trawl nets

Yet to be
determined

Types of nets

Why do ghost nets occur?

In Australia, fishing debris entering coastal regions of northern Australia usually originate in
Southeast Asia. Most of the nets arrive during the monsoonal (wet) season, between November to
March.
On the western shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria, the nets are swept in during the southeast trade
winds, mainly between May to September.

DETE
Data sourced from: GhostNets Australia http://www.ghostnets.com.au/about.html

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Why are ghost nets a problem?
Ghost nets destroy the marine life in their path. They also cause pollution. Ghost nets are a
problem for people who live in areas which rely heavily on the ocean to gather food and for their
livelihoods.
Ghost nets are a problem for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who have a
strong cultural belief of caring for their Country/Place, meaning that they have an interconnection
with their ancestral lands and seas. This is a strong motivator to seek solutions to the problem of
ghost nets.
How is the problem of ghost nets being addressed?
GhostNets Australia is an organisation that consists of more than 22 communities from coastal
northern Australia across the three states of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.
It was established in 2004 to address the issue of ghost nets in these communities.
Solutions to this problem include:

helping Indigenous rangers to continue managing their sea country

gathering high-quality information so that government and non-government organisations

have useful tools to help them to find international solutions to this problem

finding solutions to the problem of disposing of non-biodegradable rubbish, apart from the
current method of landfill.

To date, a number of projects to address the issue of ghost nets have been undertaken, including:

art

awareness events

rangers

recycling/reuse

science and research.

Image attributions:
Peter, C., Strongman Basket; photographer Sue Ryan, GhostNets Australia
Dermer, A., An unlucky one, GhostNets Australia
Dermer, J., 6 tonne Taiwanese gill net, GhostNets Australia
Dermer, J., The rubbish goes to the tip, GhostNets Australia
Dermer, J., Identifying ghost nets, GhostNets Australia
Castellain, J. Croc caught in Indonesian net, GhostNets Australia
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Points of view
Some people interviewed had the following to say about ghost nets:
I couldnt help it!
One minute, I was
dragging a huge fish in,
and the next minute,
my net fell over the edge
of the boat!

Every day, we go out to check on

the marine park beaches and find
nets that have drifted onto shore.
It is common to find animals
caught in these nets.

I like to collect the nets

from the beach and make
beautiful art pieces
from them.

The fish that we used to

catch are now being
killed by the ghost nets.

My net was old but it was all I had

to provide food for my family.
A huge wave came and broke my
net and it washed away.
Now, I have nothing.

I want to play on the beach and

swim in the ocean, but I am
worried that Ill get caught in
some ghost nets.

We need to educate
everyone about this
problem.

Discuss and match the statements above with the following people or groups:
1.

people who live in the areas of northern Australia that are affected by ghost nets

2.

fishermen and women

3.

artists

4.

park rangers

5.

government officials

6.

representatives from groups trying to remove ghost nets from the sea (GhostNets Australia).

The future?
The issue of ghost netting is not exclusive to Australia. Many countries around the world
experience the same issue and each is trying to come up with their own solution. Do you think that
this is possible?

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