<Anchor> Some



of the nets and fishing nets thrown into the sea to catch fish have not been pulled back by people. Such abandoned nets threaten the safety of not only sea creatures but also people.



To see what the situation is, JIBS reporter Ha Chang-hoon covered the undersea.



<Reporter> It



is in the sea off the coast of Seogwipo, which is about 20m deep.



A fish caught in an abandoned net catches the eye trying to escape at the risk of life or death.



This is a so-called 'ghost fishing' site, where sea creatures get caught in abandoned fishing gear and die.



It wasn't just here.



I checked the water depth of 100m, which is not touched by people other than ships.



When the trawling nets pulled up across the bottom of the sea are unfolded, all kinds of discarded fishing gear are poured out.



Most of them are discarded fishing gear that has been damaged while fishing, and various types of nets and traps are entangled.



It was confirmed that they even put it in a sack and threw it away on purpose.



Various fish are caught in the abandoned fishing gear, and some are already rotting.



Some fish are still alive.



In this way, various kinds of fish hang between the old fishing gear, which is called the ghost of the sea.



Even if it was still in the sea, it was a situation where there was no choice but to die in this state.



About 44,000 tons of discarded fishing gear are thrown away after use in the coastal waters of Korea.

The collection rate is only about half.



Abandoned fishing gear also threatens the safety of fishermen.



Accidents have occurred in which the screw of a fishing boat is wound on a waste net floating just below the surface of the water, and the waste net is difficult to see in the water, so it is even targeting the lives of haenyeo and scuba divers.



[Oanes/Ghost Diving Korea member: If you get caught in this way, you can't see it well in the water.

So I feel like someone is pulling me and I can't move, but when I look back, there's nothing...

.]



Abandoned fishing gear not only destroys the marine ecosystem, but also causes human casualties, but a proper investigation and countermeasures are still far away.



(Video coverage: Yoo-Ryeong JIBS)