SPECIAL REPORT
SEAFDEC initiatives on mitigating the impacts of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded
fishing gear on marine capture fisheries of Southeast Asia
SEAFDEC Training Department
Fishing gears have been lost, abandoned, or otherwise people’s health and food security. Although retrieval and
discarded in all seas and oceans ever since fishing began. clean-up of ALDFG could mitigate the problems, doing so
Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), would entail a huge cost for relevant authorities and the
also known as “ghost gear” is a significant component of fishing industry.
marine litter with far-reaching impacts on marine ecosystems,
fishery resources, and coastal communities. ALDFG not Box. Definition of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing
only resulted in increased operational costs for fishing vessel gear (ALDFG) (FAO, 2019)
owners for the replacement and retrieval efforts of lost gear, Fishing gear - any physical device or part thereof or combination of
but it also continued to catch target or non-target aquatic items that may be placed on or in the water or on the seabed with
the intended purpose of capturing or controlling for subsequent
species, entangle and kill marine animals including threatened, capture or harvesting marine organisms, in accordance with
protected, and commercially important fish species. While MARPOL Annex V
surface ALDFG presents a hazard for aquatic resources and Abandoned fishing gear - fishing gear over which that operator/
resource users, near-bottom ALDFG causes damage to coral owner has control and that could be retrieved by owner/
reefs and seabed which are important ecosystems. operator, but that is deliberately left at sea due to force majeure
or other unforeseen reasons
Moreover, as ALDFG is commonly composed of plastic Lost fishing gear - fishing gear over which the owner/operator has
and does not easily degrade and may be present for hundreds accidentally lost control and that cannot be located and/or
retrieved by the owner/operator
of years, once it is washed ashore, ALDFG also pollutes
beaches with plastic litter. It can also be a source of secondary Discarded fishing gear - fishing gear that is released at sea without
any attempt for further control or recovery by the owner/
microplastic as it fragments over time and contaminates fish operator
and other aquatic organisms resulting in adverse impacts on
10 SEAFDEC Newsletter Vol. 45 No. 1
The pressing concern on ALDFG was recognized at the
global level as it could be seen in the Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) stipulating that “States should
take appropriate measures to minimize waste, discards, catch
by lost or abandoned gear, catch of non-target species, both
fish and non-fish species, and negative impacts on associated
or dependent species, in particular endangered species …”
(FAO, 1995). However, the amount, distribution, and effects of
ALDFG continued to rise substantially over the past decades
with the expansion of fishing efforts and fishing grounds,
coupled with the development of new materials for fishing
gears that are more durable and buoyant. One of the important
tools to prevent and mitigate the impacts of ALDFG (and also
to combat IUU fishing) is the “fishing gear marking.” In 2019,
FAO, therefore, came up with the “Voluntary Guidelines on the
Marking of Fishing Gear” as a tool to contribute to sustainable Filaments that are not degraded and becoming part of marine litter
on the beach
fisheries, improve the state of the marine environment,
and enhance safety at sea by combatting, minimizing, and such as through pilot projects on gear marking in Indonesia
eliminating the ALDFG and facilitating the identification and and Thailand, SEAFDEC Training Department (TD) also
recovery of such gear (FAO, 2019). embarked on activities to estimate the level of ALDFG.
The project “Survey to estimate levels of abandoned, lost
In Southeast Asia, ALDFG has been recognized as one of or otherwise discarded fishing gear in Thailand, gillnet and
the issues that hamper the sustainability of marine capture trap fisheries” was implemented by TD in collaboration with
fisheries considering its impacts on the aquatic animals and the Department of Fisheries, Thailand with support from
their associated habitats. The necessity to address such issue FAO. A series of survey trials were conducted using the FAO
was also stipulated in the “Resolution and Plan of Action questionnaire to collect baseline information and a database
on Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN was developed to compile the data from the surveys in coastal
Region Towards 2030,” i.e. Resolution No. 11 Increase provinces of Thailand as an example to estimate the levels
awareness and support the reduction of impacts of aquatic of ALDFG. It was expected that through these trial surveys,
pollution and marine debris, including abandoned, lost or the FAO questionnaire could be verified and finalized in
otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), and microplastics/ order to support the collection of global baseline information
microbeads on fisheries and aquaculture; and Plan of on ALDFG, and the information collected through such
Action No. 26 Assess and manage the impacts of aquatic questionnaire could be used to support the development of
pollution and marine debris, including abandoned, lost, or management actions to combat marine debris from ALDFG
otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and microplastics/ in the future.
microbeads, on fisheries and aquaculture (SEAFDEC, 2020).
References
While some countries in the Southeast Asian region have FAO. (1995). Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
been undertaking initiatives to mitigate the impacts of ALDFG Rome. https://www.fao.org/3/v9878e/V9878E.pdf
FAO. (2019). Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing
Gear. Rome. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. https://
www.fao.org/3/ca3546t/ca3546t.pdf
SEAFDEC. (2020). Resolution and Plan of Action on
Sustainable Fisheries for Food Security for the ASEAN
Region Towards 2030. Bangkok, Thailand. https://
repository.seafdec.org/handle/20.500.12066/6583
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For more information on SEAFDEC activities on ALDFG
in marine capture fisheries, please contact, Mr. Isara
Chanrachkij (isara@seafdec.org) and Mr. Santiphong
Putsa (santiphong@seafdec.org).
Abandoned fishing nets entangling animals and coral reefs
SEAFDEC Newsletter January ̶ March 2022 11
