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Julian Collison

Floating ropes recovered off of Trevarvas Head

The last Saturday of July saw the team from Fathoms Free respond to another report of ghost gear in Mounts Bay, Cornwall. Our friends at Clean Ocean Sailing had spotted the semi-submerged tangled mess of rope from the cliff top at Trewavas head just a few days before.

Despite not being a net, ropes are still a serious entanglement hazard for marine life, as demonstrated by Ivy the whale a few months ago, who was trapped not too far away from our location. The humpback whale called Ivy was caught up in pot lines in Mounts Bay, similar to what we were called out to deal with here. Luckily, she didn't drown and was thankfully freed by the local life boat crew after hours of struggle. Sadly, each year, an estimated 300,000 other marine mammals aren't so lucky.

As we crossed Mounts Bay to our destination, it was a stark reminder that we really don't make life easy for the animals that call the marine environment their home. Buoys and floating ropes are scattered throughout the area, and reaching the tangled mess required navigation through a maze of active fishing gear.

Once at the location, our divers entered the water, and it wasn't long before two bundles of rope and two pots appeared on lift bags. It would appear that both lots had become snagged and the main line broke when they were being hauled in.

One pot is being stripped for materials, and the other will provide a training prop for divers. Neither will trap marine life again. Apologies for the lack of photos of the recovered items. We were in a rush to beat the falling tide, and the items were taken away before we realised we hadn't taken any photos!

We also recovered a random length of plastic soil pipe that was floating in the bay, which was a first for us!

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