You've probably heard this before, but it's an important point to reiterate: We do more harm to sharks than they do to us. On average, there are about 16 shark attacks in the US per year resulting in 1-2 deaths every two years. In contrast, over 700 sharks will be killed in fishing nets this year.
To sum things up, we're causing significantly more harm than they are.
However, it is certainly an unpleasant one.
Ghost nets are thin, natural-colored nets held up by floats in order to keep them in place.
As CBC reported, however, a conservation group called Emerald Sea Protection Society has determined that about 800,000 tons of the gear finds its way into oceans each year.
Dominick Martin-Mayes was fishing with a few fellow diver friends when they came across a mass that he originally thought was a large log.
"As we got closer we could see it was a net with floats," he explained to The Independant. "I jumped in the water first and was shocked at what I saw. It took my breath away."
Martin-Mayes explained that he had stumbled upon "a solid net of dead, decomposing fish and sharks."
"I got my buddy who was with me to grab a knife and jump in. We did what we could to free some of the trapped life but most of it was already dead."
"You get your hand wrapped in it and you drown," Martin-Mayes said. "The net's sole purpose in life is to kill."
He shared photographs of the horrific scene on his Instagram along with a message of disheartenment:
"So sad jumping in and seeing 10/15/20 god knows how many dead sharks, Triple tails, and Ocean Yellowtails."
Yahoo reports that the net was subsequently towed to shore and taken away by a non-profit group in the area.
h/t: The Independent, Yahoo
