Shepparton Nets Ghosts

25 October 2010

HMAS Shepperton retrieves a ghost net found adrift in Australian waters.

The ship’s company of HMAS Shepparton (Lieutenant Commander Adam Muckalt) have become environmental warriors after recovering two drifting ‘ghost nets’ in as many days around Croker Island, Northern Territory.

The Survey Motor Launch spotted the nets on October 13 and 14 approximately 10 nautical miles north east of Port Essington. Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) officers surmise that, given their location, the nets are likely to have been dumped by foreign fishing vessels north of Australia’s Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) some months ago.

Commanding Officer HMAS Shepparton, LCDR Adam Muckalt, said the ghost nets wreak havoc on the marine environment, indiscriminately destroying everything in the their path.

“Navy is a custodian of the oceans for future generations, so we have a responsibility to protect the marine environment from pollution like these nets,” LCDR Muckalt said.

“Nets like these could also easily become entangled in a ship’s underwater fittings and have a serious impact on its operational capability,” he added.

The ship’s company struggled for up to four hours per net in 34 degree heat recovering the nets through a combination of the ship’s machinery and pure strength.

“The nets were similar to icebergs – most of each net was submerged, so we thought it was going to be a relatively simple recovery evolution,’ LCDR Muckalt said.

“And the smell onboard was phenomenal. I have been a Boarding Officer on patrol boats before, but this was worse than anything I had previously encountered.”

An immeasurable amount of sea life has been saved by Shepparton’s recovery of the nets, with a turtle, a small shark, several crabs as well as many fish and shellfish being saved and released back into the water. Unfortunately, the devastation these nets had caused was apparent with a large amount of sea life, including a marine mammal, sharks and fish, and some rare black coral caught up in the net.

The nets, estimated at up to 1000 metres in length and weighing many tonnes, were found during the ship’s routine hydrographic surveys. Shepparton returned to Darwin where AFMA took the nets for appropriate disposal.

Shepparton is currently in the vicinity of Croker Island conducting hydrographic surveys to improve nautical charting in the Northern Australian area. These surveys support Defence, commercial and environmental activities and operations.

Crew members of HMAS Shepperton retrieve a ghost net found adrift in Australian waters. HMAS Shepperton retrieves a ghost net found adrift in Australian waters. Crew members of HMAS Shepperton retrieve a ghost net found adrift in Australian waters. Able Seaman Hydrographic Systems Operator Keith Large and Seaman Marine Technician Aaron Litherland of HMAS Shepperton, free a turtle whilst recovering a ghost net from Australian waters.