Ghost Gear: Lost & Left Behind

From a length of monofilament snagged in an alder to a forgotten trail camera or a crab trap that never gets hauled, “derelict gear” adds up. In British Columbia’s forests, rivers and coastal waters, these items keep working long after we’ve gone home – snaring wildlife, leaching plastics and metals and normalizing litter on the land. The good news: hunters and anglers are already part of the solution.

Why It Matters

Ghost Gear Keeps Killing

Lost gear doesn’t retire. At sea, abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear – “ghost gear” – continues to trap and injure marine life. DFO calls entanglement in active or lost gear a major threat to whales in BC, with ropes and nets wrapping tails, fins and mouths and causing injury or death. Canada’s federal ghost-gear program highlights the scale of the problem and the need for reporting and retrieval.

 

Monofilament & Lures Linger For Decades

Fishing line is strong, thin and nearly invisible underwater – the same traits that make it deadly to birds, mammals and fish when it’s discarded or breaks off. Wildlife rescue groups in BC document entanglement injuries and fatalities from line and tackle; once swallowed, hooks and line can cause internal damage and death. Peer-reviewed and agency summaries also show monofilament and net fragments persist and entangle a wide range of species.

 

Traps That “Fish” Forever – Unless They’re Built To Fail

A single lost crab pot can keep fishing for months. That’s why DFO requires “rot cord” (a biodegradable escape feature) on recreational crab traps in BC, so trapped crabs can eventually escape if a pot is lost. IFMPs for BC crab fisheries also flag unmarked and abandoned gear as a conservation concern.

 

Shotshell Wads, Hulls & Brass Are Litter – & Plastics

Plastic shotgun wads and hulls accumulate on shorelines and wetlands; behaviour-change projects from conservation agencies show that simple, visible collection systems significantly reduce wad litter near water. Separately, Canada banned lead shot for hunting migratory birds in 1999 after clear evidence of poisoning; non-toxic shot is now the standard for waterfowl, but leaving any ammunition components behind still adds plastics and metals to habitats.

 

Trail Cameras, Batteries & “Small” Items Aren’t Harmless

Forgotten trail cams and loose batteries become e-waste in the bush; leaking cells and weathered casings contribute metals and plastics. Several BC agencies and park systems emphasize Leave No Trace and “pack it in, pack it out,” because visible litter creates a social norm that invites more littering.

What Responsible Hunters & Anglers Can Do

1) Prevent loss before it happens

• Plan for conditions (tides, currents, wind, river levels) and use appropriate gear for the spot to reduce breakoffs and trap losses.
• Rig traps with rot cord and proper labels; for recreational crabbing in BC, rot cord is required so lost traps fail safely.
• Choose non-toxic and lower-litter options, such as steel or other approved non-lead shot for waterfowl (required) and consider cartridges with biodegradable wads where suitable.

 

2) If you lose gear, report it and retrieve it

• Report lost marine gear to DFO (trap, line, net) using the federal form; this helps coordinate retrieval and track hotspots. Ghost-gear notices also announce when authorized retrieval crews are working.
• Never attempt whale disentanglement yourself. Report entanglements via the DFO Marine Mammal Incident hotline; entanglement is a leading threat for BC whales.

 

3) Pack it out – always

• Line and lures: Carry a zip-bag or small Nalgene for scraps; check bushes and gravel bars when you leave.
• Wads, hulls and brass: Pick them up. Projects show that visible collection points reduce wad litter dramatically; the norm you set at a marsh or gravel pit matters.
• Trail cams and batteries: Log your camera locations and expiry dates; remove devices and pack out all batteries at season’s end.
• Follow Leave No Trace. BC Parks and provincial recreation guidance are explicit: take everything home – there often isn’t any garbage service in backcountry areas.

 

4) Recycle where possible

• Fishing line: Use monofilament recycling tubes and depot programs (e.g., Clear Your Gear partners; several BC angling groups send collected line to Berkley for recycling). If you can’t find a tube, coil line and take it home for proper disposal or depot recycling.
• Household batteries and e-waste: Use BC depot networks (e.g., Recycle BC app and local depots) to keep metals and plastics out of waterways.

 

5) Help clean up hotspots

• Join or organize a shoreline or river clean-up with local clubs and stewardship groups. Ghost-gear initiatives on the BC coast have already removed large amounts of derelict gear and created local jobs – evidence that community-led retrieval works.

A Culture Of Care

Hunters and anglers are often first on the trail and last off the water. By rigging rot-cord traps, packing out brass and wads, collecting line, retiring cameras on time and reporting lost marine gear, the outdoors community can cut entanglements, reduce plastic and metal pollution and demonstrate what “leave it better than you found it” looks like in BC.