Some 21,200 square meters of ghost nets removed
İdris Emen- ISTANBUL
A total of 21,200 square meters of ghost nets have been removed within the scope of the project of cleaning the Marmara and Aegean seas.
Ghost nets, which comprise of fishing nets that disappear in lakes, streams and seas due to reasons such as rupture and tearing, pose a great danger to living creatures in seas, streams and lakes.
A 100-square-meter ghost net causes the death of more than 300 sea creatures before the ghost net completely disintegrates.
One of the studies carried out to eliminate ghost nets was initiated two years ago with cooperation of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, the Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.
The locations of the lost nets were determined by interviewing 170 fishermen operating in the Marmara and Aegean Seas. Then, a total of 32 dives were made by a professional team, and an area of 14,500 square meters was scanned.
As a result of these studies, a total of 21,200 square meters of ghost nets were removed from the Marmara and Aegean Seas.
Stating that ghost nets pose a grave threat to marine life, “ghost nets are almost like death traps for sea creatures,” said Adnan Ayaz, a member Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University.
“Once a ghost net falls into the sea, it continues to fish for up to a year. When it sinks to the bottom of the sea, this ghost net becomes a life-threatening substance for crustacean creatures such as crabs and lobsters.”
Recommending awareness-raising activities on ghost nets, he emphasized that fishermen working in the risky areas should be convinced not to throw nets there.
“In addition, depth regulation can be carried out in fishing to solve the ghost net problem. For instance, in some parts of Europe, fishing net use is not allowed after a certain depth,” Ayaz noted.
