Each year enough commercial fishing gear to reach the moon and back is lost or discarded in the world’s oceans.

That’s according to what’s being touted as the most comprehensive study ever conducted on lost fishing gear, as the Guardian reports.

Based on available data standardised interviews with hundreds of commercial fishers across seven countries, the researchers estimate that more than 78,000 square kilometres of nets are lost annually.

In addition, some 740,000 km of main long lines and 15.5m km of branch lines as well as billions of long line hooks and 25 million traps and pots are thought to be lost or abandoned every year — adding to a growing problem of ‘ghost fishing’ where fish, turtles and even larger marine mammals are trapped in such gear.

“This is having an unimaginable toll of unknown deaths that could result in population level effects for marine wildlife,” said Dr Denise Hardesty, who co-authored the study.

The Guardian has much more on the story HERE.