Study looks at effects of lost fishing gear off southwestern Nova Scotia

CITYnews halifax \ By The Canadian Press

A new study documents the economic and environmental effects of lost fishing gear in the rich fishing grounds off southwestern Nova Scotia.

Scientists from Dalhousie University took part in the project that saw fishing captains drag grapples on the sea floor in an attempt to haul up lost equipment known as ghost gear.

The project, which ran from 2019 to 2021, recovered tonnes of lost traps, ropes, hooks, cables and other fishing-related equipment, estimated to cost the local industry $240,000 per year.

Tony Walker, of Dalhousie’s school for resource and environmental studies, says the study published today in Marine Pollution Bulletin shows problems caused by ghost gear are pervasive.

Walker says researchers documented 25 different marine species caught in the lost traps, including 652 individual lobsters, 82 per cent of which were market size.

Fifty-seven fish were also found, with 42 of them belonging to species at risk.