It's an old story but interesting....
Conservationists, local fishermen, and South Africa's Department of Environment Affairs have joined in support against gill or drift nets, mainly used by Asian fishing vessels, which kill thousands, possibly millions, of sea creatures each year, including dolphins, whales, seals, seabirds and turtles. These nets are also believed to kill huge numbers of fish which can mean the destruction of fishing industries and the loss of jobs.
Called drift nets because fishing boats leave them to drift in the ocean to catch more fish more easily, they are also known as gill nets because fish are caught and trapped by their gills. Local fishermen are particularly upset because the nets often catch younger fish such as tuna which live nearer the surface where the nets are used.
[align=center] [/align] WALLS OF DEATH
The nets are used mainly by fishing fleets from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, to catch squid, salmon and tuna in the North and South Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Italian and Spanish ships are now also using this extremely destructive fishing method in the Mediterranean. Nicknamed "walls of death" these nets are made of a very strong monofilament (single strand) nylon mesh, and each net is between 8 - 12 metres deep and may be as long as 65 km, although usually between 32 - 40 km. The nets are often put into the sea at night, where they drift with the current, catching and killing anything that gets in their way, like huge underwater spiders' webs. This method of fishing is extremely wasteful. Not only is an estimated 40% to 50% of each catch lost when the net is hauled in, but uncounted numbers of fish are injured in the net and may escape only to die later.
These nets also catch many dolphins, whales, seals, turtles and seabirds which cannot easily see the almost invisible netting. In a study by Greenpeace, one dolphin will be drowned for every 9 tuna caught by this method in the South Pacific.
[align=center] [/align] GHOST NETS
During fishing operations huge pieces of net often break away and continue killing, until eventually it is believed the nets sink with the weight of the dead fish, dolphins, whales, turtles and other creatures that Japanese fishing boats lose. These are known as "ghost nets". Japan estimates 17km of gill nets a night during the North Pacific drift net fishing season. More than 1 500 fishing vessels are using Gill or drift nets in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Many of these nets are being used in important feeding and breeding areas for whales, as well as across migration routes.
Conservationists, local fishermen, and South Africa's Department of Environment Affairs have joined in support against gill or drift nets, mainly used by Asian fishing vessels, which kill thousands, possibly millions, of sea creatures each year, including dolphins, whales, seals, seabirds and turtles. These nets are also believed to kill huge numbers of fish which can mean the destruction of fishing industries and the loss of jobs.
Called drift nets because fishing boats leave them to drift in the ocean to catch more fish more easily, they are also known as gill nets because fish are caught and trapped by their gills. Local fishermen are particularly upset because the nets often catch younger fish such as tuna which live nearer the surface where the nets are used.
[align=center] [/align] WALLS OF DEATH
The nets are used mainly by fishing fleets from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, to catch squid, salmon and tuna in the North and South Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Italian and Spanish ships are now also using this extremely destructive fishing method in the Mediterranean. Nicknamed "walls of death" these nets are made of a very strong monofilament (single strand) nylon mesh, and each net is between 8 - 12 metres deep and may be as long as 65 km, although usually between 32 - 40 km. The nets are often put into the sea at night, where they drift with the current, catching and killing anything that gets in their way, like huge underwater spiders' webs. This method of fishing is extremely wasteful. Not only is an estimated 40% to 50% of each catch lost when the net is hauled in, but uncounted numbers of fish are injured in the net and may escape only to die later.
These nets also catch many dolphins, whales, seals, turtles and seabirds which cannot easily see the almost invisible netting. In a study by Greenpeace, one dolphin will be drowned for every 9 tuna caught by this method in the South Pacific.
[align=center] [/align] GHOST NETS
During fishing operations huge pieces of net often break away and continue killing, until eventually it is believed the nets sink with the weight of the dead fish, dolphins, whales, turtles and other creatures that Japanese fishing boats lose. These are known as "ghost nets". Japan estimates 17km of gill nets a night during the North Pacific drift net fishing season. More than 1 500 fishing vessels are using Gill or drift nets in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Many of these nets are being used in important feeding and breeding areas for whales, as well as across migration routes.