Environmental and economic impacts of retrieved abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear in Southwest Nova Scotia, Canada

Jessie McIntyre; Katie Duncan; Leah Fulton; Ariel Smith; Alexa J Goodman; Craig J Brown; Tony R Walker

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115013

Environmental and economic impacts of retrieved abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear in Southwest Nova Scotia, Canada

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Jul:192:115013. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115013. Epub 2023 May 10.

Authors

Jessie McIntyre¹, Katie Duncan², Leah Fulton³, Ariel Smith⁴, Alexa J Goodman⁵, Craig J Brown⁶, Tony R Walker⁷

Affiliations

¹ Coastal Action, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada.
² Coastal Action, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada; Fugro USA Marine, Inc., Houston, TX, United States.
³ Coastal Action, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁴ Coastal Action, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada; The Ocean Frontier Institute, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁵ Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response (MEOPAR), Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁶ Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
⁷ School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: trwalker@dal.ca.

PMID: 37172340
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115013

Abstract

Abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), negatively impacts marine environments. Managing ALDFG in Atlantic Canada is challenging due to knowledge gaps on loss rates, locations, data availability/accuracy, impacts, and regulatory barriers for retrieval. This study removed ALDFG in Southwest Nova Scotia in collaboration with local fishers (with local knowledge and practical ALDFG removal expertise), government, non-profit organizations, and academia. A total of 29,298 kg of ALDFG was retrieved, including 24,630 kg using towed grapples covering ~3986 km of seafloor and 4668 kg from shorelines (comprising, 68 % lobster traps and 12 % dragger cable by weight). Traps ranged from <1 to 37 years old (median, 10 years). Traps continued to catch target and non-target species with 25 species released, including 652 individual lobsters (82 % were market-sized) and 57 fish (42 were species-at-risk). Based on estimated 2 % trap losses, annual commercial losses from ALDFG were $155,836 CAD in Lobster Fishing Area 34.

Keywords: American lobster; Benthic impacts; Ghost gear; Marine debris; Remediation; Species-at-risk.

MeSH terms

Animals
Decapoda*
Fisheries
Hunting*
Nova Scotia