DIRECT ANSWER: The rapid accumulation of ghost gear—abandoned fishing nets—along the Tamil Nadu coast highlights critical infrastructure and policy gaps in India's marine waste management strategy. Addressing this requires specialized recycling facilities, clear Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) guidelines for fishing equipment, and incentivizing fishermen participation in circular economy initiatives to safeguard biodiversity and livelihoods.
Why in News?
Reports indicate a massive piling up of discarded, lost, or abandoned fishing nets (ghost gear) along the Tamil Nadu coastline. This accumulation is primarily attributed to the lack of adequate specialized infrastructure and financial mechanisms required to process and recycle the complex synthetic polymer materials used in modern fishing equipment, exacerbating marine pollution.
What is the Concept / Issue?
The issue revolves around 'Ghost Gear'—any fishing equipment that has been discarded, abandoned, or lost in the marine environment. These nets, predominantly made of durable synthetic plastics like nylon and polyethylene, continue to trap and kill marine life (a phenomenon known as ghost fishing) for decades, contributing up to 10% of global marine plastic pollution. The challenge in India is compounded by a non-existent or inadequate collection and recycling pipeline for this specific form of waste.
Why is this Issue Important?
- Strategic: Ghost gear threatens India's commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and impacts coastal security and management, necessitating coordinated Central-State action.
- Economic: Ghost fishing severely depletes commercially valuable fish stocks, causing significant economic losses to the fishing industry and increasing the maintenance costs for port operations.
- Geopolitical/Social: The fragmentation of gear into microplastics poses substantial public health risks as these enter the human food chain. Accumulated debris also degrades coastal tourism aesthetics and local quality of life.
Key Sectors / Dimensions Involved
- Dimension 1: Marine Pollution and Ecological Impact (GS-III): Direct link to biodiversity loss, habitat destruction (corals), and microplastic burden in the Indian Ocean marine ecosystem.
- Dimension 2: Policy and Governance Gaps (GS-II & GS-III): Failure to integrate fishing gear into comprehensive solid waste management rules or to implement clear Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates for marine equipment manufacturers.
- Dimension 3: Technology and Infrastructure Deficit: Lack of specialized processing plants and necessary industrial cleaning technology capable of handling salt-contaminated and bio-fouled synthetic fishing nets for high-value upcycling.
What are the Challenges?
- Technical difficulty in processing synthetic polymers (Nylon 6) that require complex sorting and cleaning before they can be recycled into virgin-quality plastic or textile fibers.
- Absence of clear financial incentives (buy-back schemes or subsidies) for fishermen cooperatives to retrieve and surrender old or broken nets rather than discarding them at sea.
- Jurisdictional ambiguity and lack of coordinated policy between the Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, and Coastal Zone Management Authorities regarding net retrieval operations.
- High initial capital cost required to establish specialized recycling facilities, leading to a reliance on low-value disposal methods.
UPSC Relevance
Prelims Focus:
- Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) and India’s participation status.
- Technical terms: Ghost Fishing, Microplastics, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
- Coastal management bodies (CRZ rules, National Centre for Coastal Research).
Mains Angle:
GS Paper III – Environmental Degradation and Pollution; Conservation; Infrastructure (Recycling technology); Challenges in implementing circular economy models for specific waste streams. GS Paper II – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation (EPR Policy framework).
How UPSC May Ask This Topic:
“The proliferation of 'ghost gear' presents a persistent challenge to India's marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods. Critically analyze the infrastructural and policy bottlenecks hindering the successful implementation of a circular economy approach for marine plastic waste in coastal states like Tamil Nadu. (15 Marks, 250 words)”
What is the Way Forward?
- Mandatory Gear Tagging and Tracking: Implement compulsory marking or GPS tagging for new fishing nets to hold owners accountable for abandonment and facilitate retrieval efforts.
- Establish Integrated Circular Economy Hubs: Develop specialized 'Net-to-Wear' or 'Net-to-Energy' recycling plants supported by Central grants, focusing on processing polymers like Nylon 6 into high-value textile feedstock.
- Incentivization Schemes: Introduce subsidized buy-back schemes managed by Fishermen Cooperatives and State Governments, offering financial rewards for the proper disposal and surrender of end-of-life nets.
- Promote Sustainable Alternatives: Subsidize and incentivize the shift towards using biodegradable fishing gear materials, coupled with a phased ban on specific high-risk synthetic nets.
- Strengthen EPR Framework: Explicitly include fishing gear under the Extended Producer Responsibility regime, ensuring manufacturers bear responsibility for end-of-life management and financing the recycling infrastructure.