THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The reefs around capital city have been turning into cemetery of marine species as ghost nets injure or entangle them to death. The ghost nets are fishing nets that are left or lost in the sea by fishermen. Globally it's responsible for 10 per cent dip in fish catch and the sea beds of capital also are covered with them, say marine biologists.
"Every two-three days, synthetic (kangoos) nets used by country fishermen have to be replaced. On an average 2,500 kilograms of these nets are abandoned in Thiruvananthapuram every month and most of this goes to sea. Since, 1960s cotton nets were replaced by nylon nets which were recently replaced by synthetic ones," said Robert Panipilla, Chief Coordinator of Friends of Marine Life (FML).
Each of the ghost nets can potentially wreak havoc for around 600 years. Fish can be lacerated; marine animals can be suffocated and die of starvation due to these nets. Sometimes, when fishermen take nap, big vessels pass by cutting off the small nets. Similarly, large scale fishing vessels abandon nets when they are entangled in reefs.
"Government should implement blue tax on net users and manufacturers. A percentage of this can be spent on employing local divers to retrieve ghost nets," he added. Countries like Sweden and Tuvalu have taken efforts to retrieve nets. Thiruvananthapuram has divers who go up to 15 metres with no equipment and once equipped they can make a difference, says activists.
