Monofilament in the Ocean

On my way home from work the other day I heard a story on the radio about a young sea turtle that had been found on the beach in Kauai. It had two broken flippers. In addition, both flippers had cuts slicing through both the scales and muscles, down into the bone.

It wasn't a knife or a fist that injured this gorgeous animal. It wasn't even a predator, like a shark. No, the cause of the terrible injuries that led to the turtle's death was a single fiber of plastic that was so tangled in its flippers that it sliced through muscle and snapped bones.

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You can see why monofilament fishing line is one of my least favorite things ever.

Monofilament fishing line is made of a single plastic line, and has been popular for fishing since the 1950s (although the first plastic fishing lines were introduced in 1939). This type of fishing line is useful for fishermen because it is strong, durable, and virtually invisible underwater.

These same characteristics make it particularly deadly to wildlife; because it is strong, ocean animals can't break free, because it is invisible, they can't avoid it, and because it is durable, lost monofilament lines and nets can take as many as 600 years to degrade. These lost nets continue to catch fish, turtles, sharks, seals, whales, and scuba divers for many years. They are called "ghost nets." The name conjures up two types of ghosts in my mind; first, the invisible fishermen holding the net, and second, the ghosts of the many animals who have been trapped in it.

In addition to trapping animals, plastic lines get tangled around reefs and damage the coral and other creatures living on the ocean floor. Even a small amount of lost fishing line can get tangled in a coral head, killing the polyps of the coral.

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Discarded monofilament lines can even wreak havoc out of the water. It is almost as hard to see monofilament in the air. I've gotten tripped up on invisible fishing lines on the beach several times, where they can be very hazardous to marine birds.

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So what can we do about the dangers of plastic lines in the ocean?

First of all, we can reduce the amount of lines and nets that are left behind and lost. This means that recreational fishermen, snorkelers, and other beachgoers should pick up lines from the shores, and commercial fishermen should take measures not to lose nets. Many places now offer monofilament-recycling stations for this purpose. But even more important, plastic lines should be replaced by a material that degrades more quickly. Fortunately, fishing lines that degrade in five years (or about 0.8% of the time it takes traditional plastic line) are starting to become available. These lines are more expensive, but their environmental cost is much less.

Do you have any more ideas for decreasing the amount of monofilament in the ocean?