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Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) and the Perceptions of Vietnamese Fishers
Summary
Vietnamese fishing boats lose over 80,000 kg of nets and gear into the ocean every year, with gillnets being the worst offenders — this "ghost gear" keeps trapping fish and other marine life long after it's abandoned, while also breaking down into plastic pollution that can work its way into seafood and, eventually, our diets. The study also found that fishers with more education and experience tend to worry more about this problem, suggesting that outreach and training programs could help reduce gear loss and protect both ocean health and the seafood supply chain.
Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a global challenge that negatively affects marine ecosystems and fishers’ livelihoods. Survey results from 1864 capture fishers in Vietnam show that the total mass of ALDFG is 82,720 kg/year, with an average loss rate of 0.24% of the total plastic used. The average ALDFG mass from gillnet fisheries is 26.0 ± 1.2 kg/vessel/year, trap fisheries 16.1 ± 2.6 kg/vessel/year, hook and line fisheries 13.8 ± 1.4 kg/vessel/year, trawl fisheries 8.8 ± 1.1 kg/vessel/year, stick-held falling net fisheries 5.1 ± 2.1 kg/vessel/year, and purse seine fisheries 4.2 ± 1.4 kg/vessel/year. Polyethylene (PE) accounts for 47.4%, polyamide (PA) 29.5% and polypropylene (PP) 17.2% of the total ALDFG mass. Results from the selected partial proportional odds model show that fishers’ concern about ALDFG increases with education, fishing experience, vessel length, and stronger awareness of environmental and economic impacts, whereas age, days at sea, perceived navigation hazards, and perceived impacts on fish stocks are negatively associated with concern; perceived tourism impacts show a statistically significant threshold-varying effect across concern levels. These findings provide a scientific basis for developing sustainable fishing-gear management policies, aiming to reduce marine plastic pollution in Vietnam. These findings provide evidence for conservation-oriented fishing-gear management in Vietnam by identifying the gear types and fisher perceptions most relevant to reducing ghost fishing, marine plastic leakage, and risks to marine biodiversity and coastal ecosystems.