Gill Nets

Gill nets hang like massive curtains in the oceans, drifting with the currents. Ranging from 200 feet to miles in length, gill nets are weighted at the bottom and held upright by floats at the top, creating what some have called “walls of death.” Fish are unable to see the netting, and unless the mesh size is larger than the fish, they get stuck. When they try to back out, the netting catches them by their gills or fins, and many suffocate. Others struggle so desperately in the sharp mesh that they are strangled or bleed to death. Aboard the ship, fish are violently ripped out of the netting and tossed into a freezer compartment.