Marine litter: a threat to ocean ecosystems
Along France’s Atlantic coast, between 20% and 35% of marine litter comes from fishing and aquaculture (shellfish, fish and seaweed farming, etc.). Gear can be lost or abandoned due to bad weather, snagging on the seabed or a lack of onshore recycling facilities.
In the short term, this debris is a hazard to navigation, marine wildlife and habitats. Over time, this largely plastic pollution poses a serious environmental and health risk. Plastic fishing gear is extremely durable, which becomes a real problem once it is lost at sea. Some lost gear keeps catching fish and other marine life, a phenomenon known as “ghost fishing”. As it slowly breaks down, this gear sheds fragments that add significantly to the growing amount of microplastics in the ocean.
Scientists and the public join forces online
Scientists at Ifremer, the French national institute for ocean science, are working to catalogue and characterise the types of gear most often lost at sea. To support this work, they have developed Fish&Click, a citizen science programme that logs fishing-related plastic waste found at sea or on the coast.
Every sighting counts. Walkers, divers, sailors, fishers: anyone can take part. Reporting takes just a few clicks. Identify the item using the examples on the platform, upload one or more photos and add the location.
