Ghost hunting might sound like fun, but ghost gear hunting has a measurable impact on local ecosystems, as the Tampa Bay Times illustrated.
The outlet covered a cleanup effort at Fort De Soto Park near St. Petersburg, Florida. Volunteers set their sights on “ghost traps,” or abandoned crab traps — and their impact can be as scary as the name suggests.
Ghost traps are part of the larger problem of ghost fishing gear. In 2020, the World Wildlife Fund provided unsettling details about the scope of the issue and how it is often lethal to wildlife…