The Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute has revealed plans to modify fishing gears to reduce the negative impact of ghost fishing in the Indian Ocean.
Ghost fishing is when parts of fishing gears, commonly known as gillnets, get lost in the ocean and the fish gets entangled in them, eventually dying off.
“When this happens, the derelict gears continue to fish because nylon does not decompose, resulting in a catch that is consumed by no one,” Dr Eric Okuku, a marine pollution research expert at KMFRI, said.
Last month, KMFRI organised a forum with the Tudor Beach Management Unit members at their Mombasa headquarters.
The meeting was to enlighten fishermen on the negative impact of the nylon-made gillnets, which will now be replaced by nets made from natural fibre.
He said the first implementation phase of the project will involve carrying out laboratory testing to identify natural fibres that can be used to replace nylon, which is a synthetic material.
The identified natural fibre will be used to modify gillnets in the third phase of the project.
“The potential alternative fibre should degrade in six months, to reduce chances of ghost fishing and for easier retrieval,” Okuku said.
The initiative is under the Gillnet Modification Project funded by Food and Agriculture Organisation, and jointly being implemented by the State Department of Fisheries, the Blue Economy and KMFRI.
Okuko also said about 80 per cent of marine litter are from land-based sources, while 20 per cent comprise sea-based sources released from boats or ship.
The sea-based sources include fishing nets, lost items, or trash discarded by local fishermen.
Okuku assured the BMU members he modified gears will not affect the gears’ fishing capability.
KMFRI targets to build the capacity of the BMUs, who will then act as trainers of trainees for other BMUs along the Kenyan Coast, and advocate the adoption of the modified nets.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries says a gillnet is a wall of netting that hangs in the water column, typically made of monofilament or multifilament nylon that is non-biodegradable.
Mesh sizes are designed to allow fish to get only their head through the netting, but not their body.
The fish's gills then get caught in the mesh as the fish tries to back out of the net.
“As the fish struggles to free itself, it becomes more and more entangled,” Okuku said.
Gillnets are commonly used fishing gears among Kenya’s coastal artisanal fishers to catch rabbitfish.
Marine organisms such as sea turtles get trapped and are entangled by nylon while trying to escape, leading to suffocation and eventual death.
Research shows gillnetting has been a major source of mortality for all sea turtle species.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
