Nearly 50 per cent of marine litter found in Gulf of Mannar is plastic: Study

CHENNAI: Fishing may be the lifeline for lakhs of people living along the coast of Tamil Nadu. However, the mismanagement of fishing gear is strangling marine life and negatively impacts the ocean ecosystem.

A study conducted by Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute (SDMRI) in Thoothukudi, along with SALT in Norway, Lanka Environment Fund in Sri Lanka, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), revealed that nearly 50 per cent of the marine litter items found in Gulf of Mannar are fishing gears which have been abandoned or lost.

Moreover, the abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) contributed to 74 per cent of the total weight of marine litter on the Indian side of the Gulf of Mannar.

On the Sri Lankan side of the Gulf of Mannar, 41 per cent of litter items were ALDFG. By weight, ALDFG contributed to 40 per cent of the total weight of all marine litter during the study.

On the Indian side of the Gulf, 3.54 to 85.94 microplastics items per kilogram of sand were recorded in the surface sediment at 12 selected beach locations during the northeast monsoon. In water samples, abundance ranged from 8.22 to 106.85 items per litre.

Meanwhile, on the Sri Lankan side, 32 to 57 microplastic items per kilogram of sand were recorded in the surface sediment at five selected beach locations during the Southwest monsoon.

“ALDFG items can play a dominant role in the presence of microplastics found on beaches. No regulations are in place to manage ALDFG in India and Sri Lanka,” the study report said.

During the study, the researchers interviewed 343 Indian and 125 Sri Lankan fishermen along the coast of the Gulf of Mannar. While gillnets and bottom-set gillnets are the most used gear in both countries, fishermen regard them as having the most negative impacts on the marine environment.

Also, gillnets are regarded as most commonly lost on a basis. When asked if the fishers had designated locations to dispose of used gear at, all Indian respondents and 92 per cent of the Sri Lankans answered that they did not have such, the report pointed out.

Meanwhile, the state environment, forest, and climate change launched the Tamil Nadu Fishnet Initiative (TNFI) recently to collect unusable fishing nets, ropes, and other fishing gear to prevent such items from ending up in the sea.

As a pilot, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) set up a fishnet collection centre in Kasimedu fishing harbour to see whether the fishers are willing to hand over the items for recycling. About 5 tonnes of fishing gear were collected in five days of piloting.