Fishers' Perception Survey on the Causes and Effects of Derelict Gillnets in the Republic of Korea

Marine plastic pollution is being discussed as one of the three major global crises of climate change, nature loss, and pollution. Although the amount of marine plastic litter entering the sea is relatively smaller than total plastic wastes generated in the globe, it causes various and serious damages in the sea. Many literatures mention that the majority of marine plastic litter comes from land. However, the damage caused by derelict fishing gear from seaborn sources is not negligible but widespread, persistent, and irreversible. Among the derelict fishing gears, gill nets are reported on the seriousness of several literatures. In the case of Republic of Korea, the fishing nets used by gillnet fishing account for an important portion of the total fishing net use, and the report on the damage to the seabed ecosystem showed that the ghost fishing and the ecosystem damage caused by gillnets were the most serious.