Plastic pollution from discarded fishing gear in the Ganges River poses a threat to wildlife such as the critically endangered three-striped Ganges river dolphin. The fishing nets – all made of plastic – were the most common type of gear found.
“Ingesting plastic can harm wildlife, but our threat assessment focussed on entanglement, which is known to injure and kill a wide range of marine species,” said Sarah Nelms, University of Exeter, UK.
The researchers used a list of 21 river species of “conservation concern” identified by the Wildlife Institute of India in Uttarakhand.
They combined existing information on entanglements of similar species worldwide with the new data on levels of waste fishing gear in the Ganges to estimate which species are most at risk.
The findings offer hope for solutions based on “circular economy” where waste is dramatically reduced by reusing materials. A high proportion of the fishing gear found was made of nylon 6, which can be used to make products including carpets and clothing. Collection and recycling of nylon 6 has strong potential as a solution because it would cut plastic pollution and provide an income.
Picture Credit : Google