Bagfuls of fishing kit collected off Sunderland's coastline as campaigners warn it can be deadly to wildlife

Vijay Kritzinger filled five binliners with rubbish from Roker Beach at the weekend. It included fishing line, hooks and weights, with lobster pots also found tangled up in seaweed.

The discovery of so much kit – known as ghost gear – has led her to call on people who spend time on Sunderland’s coastline and River Wear to take more care of their supplies and equipment, as it is feared it will harm sealife.

She said a cormorant recently washed up with a hook in his neck on the beach, while plastic sheeting, tarpaulin, clothing, sanitary towels and tampon applicators were also binned after they were found during the session.

Vijay is a member of the Sea Shepherd group, which is due to restart regular beach cleans along the coast following a halt during the pandemic, as well as the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), which cares for injured and sick wildlife, including seals.

She said: “I’m going to send my findings to Sunderland City Council, because I think they would be quite appalled by the volume of it.

"What I saw yesterday might be because it was the Bank Holiday and the tractor has not been in operation and it just shows how much litter has been washed up from the sea or washed down the river and then back onto the beach.

"I’m concerned with how much there is, for wildlife it's a danger and I think people who are fishing need to be more responsible for their gear.

"I found four lobster pots in the seaweed, three of them without tags, and we call it ghost gear, because it disappears and comes back.

"If people are down on the beach, we’d ask them to take along a bag and pick things up as they go.”

The council has added extra bins along the coast after it voiced fury at the state people had left the beach in during the hot weather.

More details can be found about Sea Shepherd via https://www.facebook.com/SeaShepherdUK and the BDLMR through https://www.facebook.com/BDMLR.

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