BBC informs that, according to a report by environmental charity Greenpeace, fishing gear, which has been abandoned and lost at sea, makes up most of the plastic pollution in some parts of the world\’s oceans and seas.
More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, pots and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, according to the United Nations. The plastic can trap large marine animals like turtles, dolphins and seals, sometimes causing them to die painfully.
Researchers on a three-week expedition on the Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, visited Mount Vema an underwater mountain almost 1000 miles from Cape Town in South Africa. Divers found nets and lines on the side of the 4,600 metre mountain. The peak of it is 26 metres below the water\’s surface. Researchers say the equipment could have been there for more than a year.
Greenpeace says urgent action is needed to tackle the problem.