The powerful exposé by George Monbiot (Dumped fishing gear is killing marine life. Yet no governments seems to care, 19 January) highlights the exploitation of a natural resource. There are solutions, and wouldn’t it be good if the UK used its leadership of the Global Ocean Alliance of 71 member countries to drive all governments and international criminal courts to recognise the dumping of fishing gear for economic gain as an environmental crime (ecocide); sanction exploiting nations and industries; and implement charges for the use of oceans beyond exclusive economic zones, as recommended in the 2021 Dasgupta review.
The funding of pollution prevention, fishing net recovery programmes and ecosystem protection would introduce additional costs to the price of ocean products – but those are the real costs of exploitation. While seals and dolphins, whales and turtles are strangled by plastic fishing gear, we can be sure that neither the nets nor the deaths are going to go away without international action.
Carol Temple-Pediani
Blandford, Dorset
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