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• Ecological damage caused by drift nets

Drift nets are free-floating nets used in oceans to snare fish by their gills. Each net can measure up to 50 feet (15 meters) deep and 55 miles (89 kilometers) long. Because drift nets are not selective, many fish and marine mammals are trapped in them. Those unwanted by fishermen, such as sharks, turtles, seabirds, and dolphins, are removed from the nets and thrown back, dead, into the ocean. Drift nets are an extraordinarily destructive fishing technology.

Ecological damage caused by drift nets

Drift nets are used in all of the world's major fishing regions, and the snaring of unintended marine species is always a serious problem. This is especially true in the commercial fishing of swordfish, tuna, squid, and salmon. During the late 1980s, drift nets were...