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Project properties |
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| Title | Effects of lost fishing gear on marine flora and fauna in the North Sea and Adriatic Sea |
| Group | Marine Animal Ecology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Erik Wurz, Diede Maas |
| Examiner(s) | Tinka Murk, Reindert Nijland, Ronald Osinga |
| Contact info | erik.wurz@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2022/03/01 |
| End date | 2024/11/30 |
| Description | Lost and abandoned fishing gear (LAFG) has been identified as a large contributor to marine plastic pollution. Once lost in the ocean fishing gear is continuously capturing marine life that is getting entangled and often perishes. Attracted by the decaying corpses marine scavenger species get entangled in the nets and continuing a vicious circle. While awareness of the problem has been raised by organisations such as Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving, we lack quantitative data on how ALFG is interacting with the marine environment. In two case studies, laser scaled video surveys will be performed in marine habitats where ALFG has been reported. The project aims at analysing this video footage and identify species entangled in the net, number of entangled animals and percentage of cover with sessile organisms. The end product should be a decision manual for divers encountering ALFG to assess if a net is a threat to the marine environment and should be removed, or if it has become overgrown with sessile organisms representing an artificial reef structure without harming other marine species and should be left in the ocean. |
| Used skills | ImageJ, coral point count, photogrammetry, species identification |
| Requirements | Interest in benthic species composition, proficient user of excel and R |