Ghost nets: a problem in Gibraltar waters 

This is not the first time the volunteers from the diving club come to the rescue and remove these killer nets…….they know better than anyone else the state of the marine life and any anomalies on our wrecks etc… It’s is clear than there is no consistent enforcement and one can understand that in some cases there are political factors to consider before taking decisive action on Spanish fishermen. Other than enforcement on tuna fishing,which is fervently enforced by the Spanish authorities,and since it target the recreational fishermen it does not carry any political consequences when enforced in Gibraltar. There is no easy solution,but what is evident is that the diver again saved the day……..perhaps the environment marine section should increase their diving complement who would render better value for money.

This is a terrible practice. Those net should be removed asap and whoever dropped it to be prosecuted by any Spanish or UK law. I am also awaiting the video of people complaining about the extermination of miles m² of marine life when gaining land to the sea.

Easy question. What data are there for any prosecutions for illegal fishing of any type? This tells us about the state of enforcement . Why don't the marine police get out more frequently - they have the boat and staff resources as far as a layperson can see judged by the time spent pottering around the marinas - and do more enforcement? The Minister is I believe wrong in his comments about commenting on enforcement. He and the government need to be aware of the frequency of interactions and make comments where they are seen, via evidence, as too infrequent.These feedback loops are important to connect policy makers with those that are responsible for implementing them.