Ghost Fishing: When lost fishing traps continue to trap fish untended.
This Ghost Fishing Underwater Video was taken during the Scuba Transect Survey of the Farasan Islands Expedition to the Red Sea.
About Ghost Fishing
As we completed our first Scuba transect survey of the day we noticed a fish trap close to the end of our survey area. After close inspection, we noted that it was a fish trap that had been lost by the fisherman that had placed it on the sea floor. It contained the carcasses and clean skeletons of some dead fish, an indication that the trap had been there for some time. Living fishes were also present within the trap. Loss of fishing gear is common, but that does not mean the gear stops fishing. This is such a problem that the action has its own term and is ominously referred to as ‘ghost fishing’.
