I’ve been passionate about animal welfare since starting my first petition at the age of 11 against the fur industry in Italy, where I grew up. Now I’m helping tackle a global crisis that’s claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of sea animals every year.
Chiara Vitali, Sea Change Manager for World Animal Protection
A phantom menace
‘Ghost gear’ is the term used to describe fishing equipment that is lost or abandoned in our oceans. These lines and nets - some bigger than football pitches - can continue catching and entangling animals for hundreds of years before they break down.
While activists have increased global attention on marine pollution and micro-plastics, the ghost gear issue is still under-researched – despite estimates that it makes up 10% of all the debris in the sea.
Warrior women
Along with five fellow female campaigners around the world, I’m leading World Animal Protection’s Sea Change campaign to take on this silent killer. I have been working with volunteers and organisations around the UK to reduce the amount of ghost gear in the sea, and rescue entangled animals. It is heart breaking to see the range of animals threatened by ghost gear.
Seals
Seals are such inquisitive, playful creatures – especially when they are young. But if curious seals become entangled in ghost nets or lines when they’re pups, it will cut into their skin as they grow, causing them horrific long term pain and disfigurement. We’re working with partners like Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary in the Shetlands, where they have helped dozens of injured seals recover and return to the wild.
Turtles
You would be lucky to spot an endangered Leatherback Turtle off the UK coast, but they do migrate to our waters in the summer months. But this movement puts them at risk of getting caught up in floating ghost nets and lines, which can wrap around their flippers, causing injury and in some cases amputation. Our partners in the Neptunes Army of Rubbish Collectors have helped numerous Leatherback Turtles around the coast of Pembrokeshire.
Whales
Its’s not just smaller animals that are threatened by ghost gear. A few years back, a distressed and exhausted gray whale was found off the coast of California – it had been towing 50 feet of fishing net which had ensnared a dead sea lion and numerous sharks, rays, crabs and fish. Fortunately, the whale was freed.
Dolphins
We all know dolphins love to play together and are very social creatures. Sadly, dolphins can be injured by ghost gear, or worse still, trapped underwater, preventing them from surfacing to breathe. Just a month ago I went diving with the volunteer organisation Fathoms Free, where we recovered a huge trawler net off the coast of Penzance, which threatened the lives of countless fish and sea mammals.
Seabirds
We’ve seen some birds, like gannets, using small pieces of ghost gear to build their nests, which can be dangerous for their babies when they hatch. Our friend Sue from the Cornwall Seal Group has found herself rescuing countless seabirds in her seal conservation work.
Many of the animals that are freed from ghost gear do survive. And there is incredible work taking place around the world to get these death traps out of the ocean and find ways to recycle them. Visit www.worldanimalprotection.org.uk/seachange to find out more.