Composition of lost and discarded fishing gear (ghost fishing) in the blue swimming crab fishery in Rembang, Central Java

Abstract

Ghost fishing is the ability of fishing gear to catch fish continuously for a certain period when the fishing gear has been lost. Some passive fishing gear will most likely be lost due to material degradation of gear components and other factors. Therefore, it is necessary to study the composition of fishing gear left in the sea to find out the cause of ghost fishing. The study aimed to determine the composition of materials from fishing gear left in the waters of the Rembang Sea. This is done by collecting fishing gear found by fishermen and then weighing per material to get the composition of the fishing gear. As many as 86% are metal, and 14% are plastic. This shows that metal and plastic materials are difficult to decompose in marine waters, so fishermen still find these fishing gear in Rembang waters. This also shows that metal is the dominant constituent of the fishing gear used by fishermen in Rembang waters. This research provides information about what fishing gear materials are likely to be a source of ghost fishing so that it can be a suggestion for using fishing gear.