Government wants to recover ghost nets
Germany wants to play a leading international role in the fight against plastic pollution in future. "Plastic pollution is an enormous stress factor for the sea, which is already suffering from the climate crisis and species extinction," Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke told the German Press Agency. One factor in this is so-called ghost nets, i.e. fishing nets that have been lost in the sea and now pose a threat to animals and the environment. "Ghost nets and other fishing debris now account for up to 50 percent of plastic waste in the sea," said Lemke.
The German government therefore wants to join an international initiative to remove the nets from the sea and prevent further fishing gear from going missing. "Discarded or lost fishing nets drift through our oceans as invisible death traps," said Claudia Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. "In addition, tiny fibers dissolve and pollute the oceans as microplastics." The initiative aims to put an end to the senseless death of marine life.
Fishing contributes to environmental pollution due to the presence of lost fishing nets, or ghost nets, in the sea, posing threats to marine life and the environment. The environmental impact of these ghost nets, along with other fishing debris, increases the percentage of plastic waste in the ocean, contributing to microplastic pollution.
Source: www.dpa.com
