Every year, thousands of pieces of fishing gear are abandoned, lost, or accidentally discarded in the oceans. Nets, traps, longlines, and other equipment continue interacting with the marine environment long after they've stopped serving their purpose, unintentionally capturing organisms and generating waste that can persist for decades. This phenomenon, known as ghost fishing, has become one of the main environmental challenges facing professional fishing.
While the solution involves combining prevention, recovery, and equipment improvement measures, the design of the gear's own components is becoming increasingly important. A weight better suited to the seabed doesn't eliminate ghost fishing, but it can help reduce the likelihood of loss and minimize its impact when it does occur.
What is ghost fishing and why does it concern the industry?
Ghost fishing refers to the continued capture of species by fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost, or discarded at sea. The problem with this equipment is that it can keep trapping fish, crustaceans, and other species over long periods of time, affecting the marine ecosystem in two ways: through pollution and through ghost fishing itself. When the gear involved is nets, this phenomenon is often specifically referred to as ghost nets, though the underlying problem, equipment that keeps operating unchecked after being lost, is the same regardless of gear type.
Beyond its environmental consequences, lost gear also represents a significant cost for the industry itself. Replacing lines, hooks, weights, and other components requires time and money, while disruptions to fishing activity increase fuel consumption and reduce the profitability of each fishing day.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in its report Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear, estimates that approximately 2% of the fishing gear used worldwide ends up abandoned, lost, or discarded in the ocean each year, a figure that reflects the global scale of the problem.
The economic impact goes far beyond the lost material
When gear becomes snagged or is abandoned, the cost isn't limited to replacing the lost components. Each incident involves time spent re-rigging the equipment, delays in operations, and higher fuel consumption.
Various studies have attempted to quantify this impact. For example, in the southwest Nova Scotia lobster fishery, research published in Marine Pollution Bulletin estimated losses of over 175,000 Canadian dollars per year associated with abandoned gear, a figure that later rose to approximately 240,000 dollars per year for the period between 2019 and 2021.
Weight design also influences the likelihood of loss
When analyzing the causes of gear loss, attention usually focuses on line strength or the configuration of the fishing gear. However, the weight is one of the first elements to interact with the seabed, and its design affects the risk of snagging depending on the type of substrate it operates on.
Its geometry determines how the gear moves over obstacles. Low profiles, rounded surfaces, and smooth spherical or cylindrical shapes present fewer points likely to become wedged between rocks than designs with flat faces or sharp edges. In many cases, this configuration helps the weight roll or slide over the obstacle instead of getting stuck.
That said, precision matters here. No design can completely prevent snagging. In fact, patents developed specifically for snag-resistant weights acknowledge that even optimized geometries can end up lodged in cracks or cavities on the seabed. Design reduces the likelihood of loss, but doesn't eliminate it.
When loss does occur, the material also matters
Prevention is the first line of defense against ghost fishing, but it's also important to consider what happens when loss can't be avoided.
Traditionally, many fishing weights have been made from lead. If they remain on the seabed after gear is lost, they leave behind not just physical waste but a heavy metal whose toxicity and bioaccumulation potential are well documented.
For this reason, the industry is showing growing interest in alternatives such as recycled zinc. This material maintains the operational performance needed for bottom longline fishing, is recyclable at the end of its useful life, and prevents lead from entering the marine environment in the event of accidental loss.
It doesn't reduce ghost fishing on its own, but it does lower the environmental footprint associated with one component of the gear.
Trust GreenCastSea, because reducing losses requires a combined strategy
Tackling ghost fishing doesn't depend on a single innovation. Locating lost gear, recovery systems, equipment marking, the use of weak links, adapting gear to the seabed type, and complying with future regulatory requirements are all part of a comprehensive strategy.
Given this reality, weight design is just one more component of the system. Specialized manufacturers like GreenCastSea develop standard fishing weights and custom fishing weights that can reduce the likelihood of snagging through geometries tailored to each fishery and, being made from lead-free recycled zinc, lower the environmental impact when loss proves unavoidable.
While we can't prevent ghost fishing with a single piece of gear, we do work to provide solutions that contribute to professional fishing that is more efficient, more sustainable, and better prepared to meet future environmental requirements.