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Ben Pearson, Senior Campaign Manager with World Animal Protection, reminds us of their campaign to counter the threat to marine animals from abandoned fishing nets known as ghost gear. As a campaign the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI and known as Triple GI) is going quite well. More companies have signed up like the Thai Union Group (they own John West) and the New Zealand government has now signed. Having a couple of governments on board makes the Triple GI more effective. As part of the campaign Triple GI has released a ranking which detailed how various seafood companies are going in terms of integrating best practice into their supply chains. It found, unfortunately, most companies still had work to do but progress has been made in Australia, the UK and the US. Some companies like Australia’s Austral Fisheries, just need more information on their web page to help educate the public about the issue. The Triple GI is not concerned about the number of nets being used; they just don’t want them lost in the oceans. Illegal fishing (pirate fishing) is a major source of ghost nets, particularly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Not many Pacific counties have the resources to patrol their own waters, let alone those further out to sea and beyond anyone’s jurisdiction. Recent efforts, like Indonesia’s crack down on illegal fishing, are a huge part of the solution. In Australia, the nets in the Gulf of Carpentaria come from the Timor and Arafura Seas. Australia contributes to the problem primarily through recreational fishing gear with lines, sinkers and hooks getting into the water. This would not be a problem if all recreational fishers took such litter home. The federal government could help by speeding up the Threat Abatement Plan to deal with the impacts of marine debris on Australian sea animals. Hopefully the plan will tabled this year in parliament. The problem of plastic and waste in the ocean has continued to increase. Governments need to do a lot more to tackle. Plastic is just so cheap and the people who create excessive packaging aren’t the ones who bear the costs of its disposal, so there is no incentive to reduce it. Sea birds feed plastic bottle tops to their young (they think the bright colours mean food) with horrendous results and turtles see plastic bags as jellyfish to eat. The world’s oceans (which cover 70% of the Earth’s surface) are absolutely critical to life on the planet with large numbers of human beings relying on fish for protein, making overfishing and despoliation a big issue. Ben Pearson argues for laws to rein in excessive plastic use but until then people have to step up and be a part of the solution. People should stop using take-away coffee cups as they are lined with plastic which can’t be recycled. Take your own cup to be filled or use a “keep Cup”. Plastic straws need to be replaced with paper ones which become soggy and break down in oceans and streams. Consumers should not be buying micro plastic and micro beads. Some companies are also starting to help. Woolworths and Coles are starting to phase out excess packaging in their supermarkets and single use plastic bags are out. World Animal Protection has a heavy focus on solutions across all of its campaigns. The variety of stakeholders in Triple GI (government, industry, academics) creates a credible grouping which helps catalyse solutions to the problem. The net results of working with industry on best practice frameworks have pleased Triple GI so fae. Text: V.B. July 2018
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