‘Ghost Net’ Pulled From San Juan Island Waters
State divers and a fishing boat removed an abandoned fishing net near San Juan Island.
Derelict fishing nets, or “ghost nets” as divers call them, can trap and kill marine animals, birds and even people. The state Department of Natural Resources and the Northwest Straits Commission teamed up to remove the fishing net that was snagged on a reef north of San Juan Island. The net is hundreds of feet long and weighs 2 tons to 3 tons.
Divers freed the net and floated it to the surface, where a fisherman who volunteered his 75-foot purse seiner pulled it from the water.
Experts said there are several hundred tons of abandoned fishing nets in Washington waters.
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