Sitting on the side of a small boat off the coast of Baja California, suited up in diving gear, a group of 10 women prepared to descend into the chilly waters.
Their mission? Remove as much “ghost gear” as possible.
Abandoned fishing lines, nets and traps are a pervasive and deadly threat to the world’s oceans, smothering coral reefs and ensnaring marine animals. According to one estimate, nearly a third of fishing lines are lost or discarded at sea. Experts estimate that more than 300,000 whales and dolphins die each year after getting tangled in them.
The women — fisherwomen, wives of fishermen, a lifeguard, marine biologist and an artist among them — call themselves “Sirenas (mermaids) de Mexico,” and they are determined to protect the ocean, strengthen their communities and break barriers in the seafood industry.
“Our community depends on the sea; any activity that benefits the sea, benefits our future,” said Hañela Ancona Balam, a reef monitoring diver and member of the Sirenas. “We know that women of the sea have always been there; now we are demonstrating that we are capable of more than just frying fish. We can do all the activities that men can do at sea, and now we are proving it.”
Several of the Sirenas prepare to dive for ghost gear. A third of fishing lines and 6% of nets are lost to the sea, where they smother coral and entangle wildlife.
The Sirenas recently met on Isla Natividad for a weeklong training session to learn to clean up ghost gear. Led by Edgardo Ochoa, global marine and diving safety officer at Conservation International and the local marine and diving organization COBI, the training leads them through dive safety practices, underwater signals and how to safely cut, lift and remove ghost gear at depths of up to 18 meters (60 feet).
“A lot of pride and emotions went into our work that week,” Ochoa said. “It was inspiring to see these women from different backgrounds come together with the same goal and to hear them planning for the future.”
While the main goal was learning the ropes to ghost gear removal, the group was able to remove two [abandoned] lobster traps, as well as a massive assembly of ropes and traps — despite battling cold waters and tough conditions.
The Sirenas scooped up two abandoned lobster traps during their training.
For the women, their motivations for participating in the training were personal.
Carmina Salinas, a local marine biologist, was reminded of her father, who taught her to love the ocean.
“The ocean is like my dad’s hug … every time I submerge in the water, it’s like having that part of him with me,” she said. “He and my grandfather would tell me that the ocean used to provide much more. Now, our task is to preserve what is left, as well as try to rescue what we have lost.”
Ochoa, who has been pulling out abandoned fishing gear for nearly two decades, has certified roughly 100 divers around the world in the last five years. He’s keen to point out that he doesn’t measure success by the amount of trash cleaned up, but by the number of “ghost-gear” divers he certifies.
He likens it to a “pay-it-forward” kind of approach — the more people he trains, the more people who can chip away at this problem, wherever they are in the world.
The approach is already paying off.
Just two days after completing the training, Diana Garcia, one of the Sirenas, helped remove nearly 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds) of ghost gear and debris in the waters near her community, Bahia Kino, on the Gulf of California coast.
Sirena Diana Garcia cleaned up a web of fish nets and other trash near her home after completing the training. Photo courtesy of Garcia.
Ghost gear haunts every corner of the ocean. Spreading on tides and currents, it knows no borders. While estimates suggest ghost gear accounts for 10 percent of the waste floating in the ocean, Ochoa said it’s almost impossible to know the true impacts, because abandoned nets and gear typically come from illegal or unregulated fishing vessels and are therefore unreported.
Not only are there more fishermen at sea because of growing demand for fish, fishermen today use nylon fishing lines and nets that last virtually forever compared with the silk or cotton nets of the past. For coastal communities, the effects can be crushing: Ships getting stuck in nets, microplastics ingested by fish and unsightly plastic waste that can drive tourists away.
Despite the daunting task ahead, the Sirenas see opportunity — and hold a newfound confidence to take on the challenge.
“This training has shown me that I can expand my skill set and make a difference,” Salinas said. “We must share our knowledge and manage our fishing sites without harming the ecosystem. If you can dream it, you can accomplish it — there are no barriers or limits; every little step you take towards accomplishing your dream is a victory.”
Ochoa will host another training session in May on the Yucatan coast.
The Sirenas recovered a massive tangle of fishing rope during their training. As demand for fish has skyrocketed, so has ghost gear.
Further reading:
- Where 'ghost gear' haunts the seas, divers unite to clean up
- Like to dive? New course will train you to be a ‘ghostbuster’ of the sea
- Off Panama’s coast, divers resurrect a ‘ghost’ of the deep
Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.