Is there something fishy about that litter? A UK case study on abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear

Fisheries related litter including Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) is recognised as one of the most harmful types of marine plastic litter. It makes up a substantial proportion of litter from sea-based sources and poses significant threat to marine ecosystems, and livelihoods. This paper provides the first comprehensive description of fisheries related litter on the seafloor around the UK, detailing sources and item descriptions. Existing litter data were reanalysed by examining photographs and descriptions of litter items taken from surveys in the North Sea (2016-2020) and the Celtic Seas (2018-2022). More than half of all litter items (by count) were identified as fisheries related litter (51 % for North Sea and 53 % for Celtic Seas), with the majority specifically identified as ALDFG (33 % for the North Sea and 36 % for Celtic Seas), mostly originating from trawl fisheries (96 % for North Sea and 89 % for Celtic Seas). The top items (by count) identified were dolly rope, trawl net, rope and net cuttings, and hotspots of ALDFG were identified off the Yorkshire coast, in the North Sea and off the South West of the UK, in the Celtic Seas. This shows that fisheries significantly contribute to marine litter around the UK and demonstrates that existing monitoring data can contribute towards our understanding of the topic. The findings of this study can support UK and regional efforts to reduce fisheries related litter and guide targeted prevention, mitigation and remediation measures to address plastic pollution.