When marine animal rescuers in the United Kingdom got a call that an injured seal was in trouble, they rushed to find him. By the time they did, his lifeless body had washed ashore amidst a jumble of trash. The poor animal’s neck had gotten caught in nearly 80 pounds of floating plastic netting and other debris. Once tangled, the trash quickly rendered him helpless — unable to swim, hunt for food, or even dive. The plastic eventually clamped around the seal’s neck so strongly that his head was nearly shorn from his body.
This seal isn’t the only animal to fall victim to such a terrible fate. Known as “ghost gear,” this netting and debris is abandoned by fishing boats and left to float aimlessly in our oceans. These pieces of plastic trash are death traps just waiting to ensnare any living thing they come into contact with. Each individual piece of ghost gear can kill up to 40 marine animals. Collectively, they kill around 100,000 whales, sea lions, and other critters each year. Fishing boats must be held accountable for the waste they throw into our seas and forced to pay a price if their netting finds its way into our oceans & and we’re asking the United Kingdom to set a precedent. Sign the petition and urge the U.K. to crack down on ghost gear!