Spurred by the sponge’s plight, Mehrotra recently led a study that assessed the scale of the impacts of discarded or “ghost” fishing gear on Thailand’s marine species.

Teams will be looking for the abandoned fishing gear in Bay, Boston Harbor and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Gill nets, fishing pots and traps are most likely to “ghost fish,” while long-lines are more likely to ensnare other marine organisms and trawls most likely to damage sub-sea habitats.

This is what known as ‘ghost fishing’ which involves the swimming nets catching fish and diminishing some species. Others die even as the nets destroy breeding habitats for fish when the nets ...

Photograph by National Geographic Wilson runs Ghost Fishing New Zealand (GFNZ), a Wellington based volunteer organization that’s dedicated to removing ghost gear and other debris from coastal ...

The unusual discovery of a ghost net — a lost or dumped fishing net drifting through the ocean — washed up near Albany sparks concern for the nets' impact on local marine life.

Fishing nets and other “ghost gear” left in the oceans have long been killing marine life. The university research team, in a report published in October, said discarded tires are also ...