River Pollution from Plastic Fishing Gear Threatens Ganges River Wildlife

River pollution due to plastic fishing gear is a threat to the Ganges River's wildlife, such as dolphins, turtles, and otters.

Revealed by a new study

A new study published in the Total Environment Science showed how fishing gear entanglement could harm various marine wildlife such as the three-striped roofed turtle, a critically endangered reptile, and the Ganges River dolphin, which is also endangered.

University of Exeter scientists led the research team composed of international researchers from Bangladesh and India. The study was part of the National Geographic Society's expedition entitled "Sea to Source: Ganges."

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The high number of discarded gear

Interviews of local fishers by the researchers showed a lot of fishing gear that are discarded. These are due to the short lifespans of the gear and the absence of a proper disposal system.

Surveys that have been conducted along the Ganges from Bangladesh up to the Indian Himalayan region showed that fishing gear waste is most numerous near the sea. Fishnets made from plastic are the most common waste.

Importance of the Ganges for inland fisheries

According to Dr. Sarah Nelms from the Exeter Center for Ecology and Conservation, the Ganges supports one of the world's largest inland fisheries. However, no significant research has so far been made to assess the plastic pollution there and its impacts on the river's wildlife.

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Conduct of the study

Nelms said that their assessment focused on wildlife entanglement, which injures and kills marine species. 

The study included 21 river species that are a conservation concern, as selected by the Wildlife Institute for India.

The research team combined the information on similar species' entanglements in other parts of the world with the information they collected on fishing gear waste present in the river. They used these data to estimate and identify the species that are at risk the most.

Finding a solution

According to Nelms, there is much fishing gear waste in the river because no recycling system is present. Most of the interviewed fishermen mend their nets and repurpose them as best they can. Beyond that, they discard them into the river.

Many fishers think that the Ganges cleans away the waste. This means that one part of the solution is to raise awareness of the environmental impacts that discarded nets cause.

Reusing fishing gear

According to Heather Koldewey, National Geographic Fellow, University of Exeter and Zoological Society of London professor, and expedition co-leader, their findings are a way to determine solutions based on the so-called circular economy, in which waste is significantly reduced through the reusing and recycling of materials.

Koldewey says that a large proportion of the waste gear they found is composed of nylon 6, a valuable material useful for making products such as clothing and carpets.

Collecting nylon 6 and repurposing it reduces plastic pollution while providing income to the people.

They have demonstrated how this works through their highly successful Philippine Net-Works project, which turned into an independent social undertaking known as COAST-4C.

Koldewey recognizes that river pollution from plastic fishing gear is complex and will consequently need multiple solutions to serve wildlife and local communities in the Ganges River and other water systems of the world.

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