Hawaiian nun seals threatened by plastic: the surfers' project to remove the waste that traps them

In Hawaii, plastic traps to catch "hangfish" are responsible for pollution on beaches and threaten seals.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Lost and discarded fishing gear is the leading cause of plastic pollution on Hawaii's beaches and poses a major threat to marine and coastal ecosystems

Fishing gear and more: in Hawaii the plastic traps used (elsewhere) to catch "hangfish", a type of eel, are one of the main causes of pollution on beaches and on the seabed and are seriously endangering thousands of Hawaiian monk seals. And the best part is, those traps in Hawaii aren't even commercialized.

This is why the Hawaii sections of the Surfrider Foundation are launching the North Pacific Hagfish Trap Project, a program aimed at reducing the number of hagfish traps arriving on the shores of the beautiful Central Pacific archipelago.

Compared to other types of fishing gear, those characteristic funnel-shaped traps are easily identifiable and come from small fisheries on the west coast of North America and East Asia, mainly from Korea. The target of illegal fishing is precisely “hangfish”, a type of eel known as “slime eel” sold almost exclusively at Korean markets for food or to create “eel skin” products such as wallets or boots.

Specifically, hagfish are important scavengers for cleaning the ocean of dead carcasses. As bottom eaters, these primitive fish are typically found in cool, deep waters and to protect themselves from predators they produce a dense slime similar to mucus. Hagfish are considered a culinary delicacy in Korea ("gomjangeo") and their skins are processed into products, such as boots, wallets and bags.

Hawaiian nun seals threatened by plastic: the surfers' project to remove the waste that traps them

@Cheryl King, SHARKastics

Every hagfish trap found on a Hawaii beach traveled thousands of miles on ocean currents to get here, said Lauren Blickley of the Surfrider Foundation.

And, if there's no end to the worst: Traps not only contribute to the global pandemic of plastic pollution, but are also responsible for damaging marine animals, particularly the already endangered Hawaiian monk seal pups.

Those traps, in fact, turn into traps for the monk seals whose snout can become entangled, causing abrasions, infections, starvation and eventually death.

@Surfrider Foundation

This year, the Surfrider Foundation and partner organizations have already removed more than 3 hagfish traps from the Hawaiian coast.

We have done a tremendous amount of work in Hawaii to reduce pollution from locally sourced plastics such as single-use plastics. Now is the time to shift our focus to ocean pollution, particularly from commercial fishing, Blickley said.

HERE you can find the whole project.

Fonte: Surfrider Foundation

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