We recently hosted the first regional workshop to address abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear. This type of pollution is also referred to as 'ghost nets'.
Ghost nets are harmful to marine life and their habitats. They can stretch more than 6 kilometres and weigh several tonnes.
Ghost nets entangle, lacerate and even strangle birds, turtles, dolphins, whales and other marine life.
It was the first ghost nets workshop under the Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Action (ATSEA) Program. ATSEA is a regional partnership between the governments of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The workshop was an opportunity for governments, First Nations representatives and relevant organisations in the Arafura and Timor Seas region to come together. Indigenous rangers from the Gulf of Carpentaria shared their experience managing ghost nets with policy makers from the region. This will help inform the next steps to address ghost nets in the region.
This workshop forms part of our ongoing commitment to support regional action to reduce ghost nets in the Arafura and Timor Seas.
We will continue to work with our regional partners to address our shared environmental priorities.
