Riverine plastic pollution from fisheries: Insights from the Ganges River system.

Autor: Nelms SE; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK; Centre for Circular Economy, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK. Electronic address: s.nelms@exeter.ac.uk., Duncan EM; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK., Patel S; Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK., Badola R; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Bhola S; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Chakma S; Isabela Foundation, Road-15 (new), Dhanmondi-R/A, Dhaka 1209, Bangladesh., Chowdhury GW; Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; WildTeam, 69/1 New Circular Road, Dhaka 1217, Bangladesh., Godley BJ; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK., Haque AB; Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh; Nature-based Solutions Initiative, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK., Johnson JA; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Khatoon H; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Kumar S; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Napper IE; International Marine Litter Research Unit, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK., Niloy MNH; Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh., Akter T; Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh., Badola S; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Dev A; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Rawat S; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Santillo D; Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Innovation Centre Phase 2, University of Exeter, Devon EX4 4RN, UK., Sarker S; Department of Oceanography, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet 3114, Bangladesh., Sharma E; Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India., Koldewey H; Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK; Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2021 Feb 20; Vol. 756, pp. 143305. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Nov 04.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143305
Abstrakt: Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear represents a substantial proportion of global marine plastic pollution and can cause significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. Yet little is known about its presence in, and implications for, freshwater ecosystems or its downstream contribution to plastic pollution in the ocean. This study documents fishing gear-related debris in one of the world's largest plastic pollution contributing river catchments, the Ganges. Riverbank surveys conducted along the length of the river, from the coast in Bangladesh to the Himalaya in India, show that derelict fishing gear density increases with proximity to the sea. Fishing nets were the main gear type by volume and all samples examined for polymer type were plastic. Illegal gear types and restricted net mesh sizes were also recorded. Socio-economic surveys of fisher communities explored the behavioural drivers of plastic waste input from one of the world's largest inland fisheries and revealed short gear lifespans and high turnover rates, lack of appropriate end-of-life gear disposal methods and ineffective fisheries regulations. A biodiversity threat assessment identified the air-breathing aquatic vertebrate species most at risk of entanglement in, and impacts from, derelict fishing gear; namely species of threatened freshwater turtle and otter, and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. This research demonstrates a need for targeted and practical interventions to limit the input of fisheries-related plastic pollution to this major river system and ultimately, the global ocean. The approach used in this study could be replicated to examine the inputs, socio-economic drivers and ecological impacts of this previously uncharacterised but important source of plastic pollution in other major rivers worldwide.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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