Updated June 05, 2017 19:40:18

Photo: A diver swims above a whale, which has been caught in a ghost net. (Marine Photobank: Bob Talbot)

Conservation group World Animal Protection hopes to convince the international community to help clear oceans of discarded fishing gear, which it estimates is killing hundreds of thousands of whales, seals, turtles and birds each year.

The group estimates around 640,000 tonnes of so-called 'ghost gear' is left in oceans each year and can stay in the oceans for up to 600 years, trapping animals as large as whales and causing them long and painful deaths.

World Animal Protection has developed an initiative to tackle the issue, which is being supported by Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and New Zealand.

The group's Ingrid Giskes attended the UN Ocean Conference in New York in a bid to convince other nations, including Australia, to sign up to the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) to help clear the world's oceans of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing nets, lines and traps.

"I think this conference is one of the first UN conferences that is not just going to be all about talk, but really about action," she said.

"There is a registry online attached to the conference, which is called a register of voluntary commitment, which is basically where countries can pledge action on the issue of ocean health including marine litter.

"The first day of the conference World Animal Protection is hosting a side event, which is co-sponsored by the Australian Government, so we are very much looking forward to the Australian Government's participation in that event."

Tonga's Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forestry and Fisheries Semisi Tauelangi Fakahau said his nation has been a longstanding supporter of the initiative.

"Ghost fishing gear represents one of the biggest threats to marine life," he said.

"Tongans are people of the ocean and the seas.

"The oceans, our 'moana' is our heritage.

"We must prevent fishing gear being lost in our oceans as it causes serious environmental, as well as economic and social impacts on the marine environment and is directly affecting our communities and fishing industry."

Topics: environmental-health, environment-education, environmental-impact, environmental-policy, environmental-management, environment, oceans-and-reefs, united-states

First posted June 05, 2017 19:30:07