Ghost Gear Heroes

You're not alone in this fight. There are incredible organizations working full-time to remove ghost gear from Florida's reefs and waterways. Ghost gear — lost, abandoned, and discarded fishing gear — is one of the deadliest forms of marine debris on Earth. Approximately 640,000 metric tons of fishing gear is lost or abandoned globally every year, the weight of 4,500 blue whales entering the ocean as garbage annually. NOAA estimates ghost gear entangles or kills over 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles each year, plus millions of fish, crabs, and birds. Some synthetic fishing gear takes up to 600 years to fully break down, and the FAO estimates ghost fishing causes $2.5 billion in fisheries losses annually. In this lesson, we'll meet the heroes fighting this problem — from local Florida Keys divers to international policy changemakers — and learn how you fit into the movement.