Predicting factors of fishing gear loss and distribution across Canada’s Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Abandoned, lost, and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) comprises a large portion of the world’s marine plastic pollution, damaging marine habitats, wildlife, and fishing industries globally. Lost gear retrieval can be an effective short-term mitigation strategy, and spatial modelling has been helpful tool determine where to target efforts. Using Canada’s Pacific Ocean as a case study, we examined how environmental, and fishing attributes contribute to gear loss. We predicted areas of potentially high ALDFG occurrence based on key variables using a Species Distribution Modeling approach. We determined that important variables for predicting gear loss included bathymetry, fishing effort, and wind speed. Our projections of ALDFG occurrence indicated that the coastal areas of Canada’s Pacific Ocean had the highest probability of gear loss. Our research has the potential to increase the efficiency of future gear retrieval and provide insight to fisheries management to effectively mitigate the negative effects of lost fishing gear in Canada’s Pacific Ocean.