Monday 10 September 2018

Ghost Net


Not a Halloween post as the title might suggest. Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen. These nets, often nearly invisible in the dim light, can be left tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea. They can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures, including the occasional human diver. Acting as designed, the nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and suffocation in those that need to return to the surface to breathe. (from WikiPedia)


There are an estimated 640,000 tons of fishing nets in the oceans. These fishing nets remain adrift for a substantial amount of time and are responsible for the accidental capture of many marine mammals. This problem only continues to get worse each year. Even our reefs can be negatively affected. (from AricSwim).


I always collect trash during our beach combing, unfortunately I can not take it all (as there is so much) but I always try to get those nasty nets and fishing lure from the beach as they can get back in the sea with the next storm. The one I used for this Wall piece was a basket to catch crabs, I found a bunch of them and as they are metal I like to make something interesting of them as they are beautiful in their own way. This time I decided to make a conversation piece with one of them, and I think I succeeded, I wrote a lot :)

The piece is available at StarHomeStudio.
If you want to find out more about ghost nets and how they horribly effect marine life (not for the faint hearted) Google provides plenty of info and sad images.

7 comments:

  1. I recently read that over half of the trash in the oceans is just this kind of trash... discarded, mostly commercial, fishing gear. That doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to control our wastes and recycle as much as we can... but it is a sobering thought.

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  2. Unfortunately, a person brings huge damage to nature. I always tell MY students about the garbage islands in the ocean, the size of CANADA

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  3. This is a wonderful piece!
    More and more people are talking about the trash in the oceans, at least here in Sweden, and trying to do something about it, like arranging trash cleaning days on the beaches. But there is so much out there...

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  4. What a beautiful art work! And sad story with all these sea creatures who had to pay the price.. the world need more people like you!

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  5. Fishing nets are a huge issue! From all the plastic pollution found in the ocean, fishing nets are the biggest issue. If I recall it correctly, they take up 46% of all the trash.
    So yes, picking them up when at the beach is crucial!

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  6. My first impression was simply: wow, a great piece of art. Then I read your story and it has such a dramatic and serious background. That's why I'm twice impressed!

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  7. That's a very neat piece but I feel sorry for the little fish ;) When I first saw it I thought it was wood or wicker.

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