What a dolphin’s death in Kerala reveals about India’s marine plastic pollution

India’s Fishers Confront Homegrown ‘Ghost Gear’ Problem

By Robert Bociaga Across India’s west coast, fishers often abandon or discard their damaged gear at sea after seabed snags, mounting economic pressures, and increasingly crowded near-shore waters make recovery difficult, creating a constant stream of “ghost gear” into the Arabian Sea. Once lost, fishing gear continues to function, whether it drifts through the water column or settles on the seabed, trapping marine life or entangling marine habi…

What a dolphin’s death in Kerala reveals about India’s marine plastic pollution

Necropsy of an endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphin that washed ashore on Kozhikode beach recently reveals fatal plastic fishing net ingestion, highlighting growing threats from marine pollution and ‘ghost nets’. CMFRI data show marine mammal strandings remain high, with coastal dolphins among the species most vulnerable