Revillagigedos - Part 3 of 4: Ghost Net

On the long trip out to the islands, Tricia told me about an abandoned fishing net that they had discovered on a previous trip. The net was approximately 500 meters long, laying over the rock and reef at a dive site named Giant's Causeway, located on San Benedicto Island. During the last trip, they were able to remove about a third to half of the net. We planned to remove as much of the rest as possible during my trip. The net was already known to have killed several mantas and sharks, plus at least one turtle and numerous smaller creatures. Though we wanted to do this with as little disruption to the guest's diving as possible, the plan was explained to them and they were very supportive of our effort.

Being an "extra", I wasn't sure what role they wanted me to fill. I was guessing that they'd probably have me heaving on the line from the surface (an exhausting, stinky job) - I really didn't care as long as I got to pitch in in some way, and if not, I'd get to take some photos of it. When we arrived on site, I was informed I was going to be one of the 3 divers extracting the net from the reef, so I found my knife and EMT shears and got ready to go.

The net was draped on the rocks and coral at 90 - 110 feet. Divemaster Sten dropped in first and floated one end of the net with a lift bag. The basic strategy was for the two guys in the skiff to pull upward on the net as Divemaster Tricia, Divemaster Buzz and I freed the net from the bottom. To do that, we pulled the net when we could, and cut parts of it as we needed to. It's not easy work, and we blew through our air at about double the normal rate.

Down we went, and I started pulling and cutting. I was very focused on the job and Tricia even later made a comment about my intensity. I saw some of the little creatures swimming out from the net. No, they weren't trapped like their larger cousins, but it is still an ugly sight. On behalf of my species, I apologize. I wish I could do more to clean up the mess we've left here for you, and more importantly I wish I could promise it won't happen again.

I came up upon a spot where the net drapes from one rock to another, spanning about 10 meters. We freed this section, and I looked down to see a pile of large bones and pieces of cartilage. Several large creatures met their end here - an awful waste. I picked up a spinal column bone - it was large, almost as big as my fist. I'm guessing it was from a manta, though it may be too solid. As I gathered myself and rested a moment for the next section, I noticed that my mask was leaking. For some odd reason, the moisture on my face wasn't quite as saline as the sea water and didn't actually appear to be coming into my mask from the outside. Strange.

Buzz ran low on air and headed for the surface. Tricia and I kept pulling and cutting for a few minutes more. Tricia then asked me how much air I have left - answer: not much. She moved us ahead about 15 meters, and we cut the net crossways, needing to cut through the much thicker nylon supporting rope. We went back and kept freeing, hoping we'd make it to the cut. I ran out of air first, and Tricia a minute or two later. We got aboard the skiff where Engineer Tim and Divemaster Sandy were laboring to bring the last bit of the net up. I'm guessing we freed about 150 meters. There is still one section down here, but it is no longer draping across open areas so it is less of a threat. The rest will come up quickly on the next trip.


All black Manta

The net, which by this time was starting to ripen a bit, was hoisted up on to the top deck where it will dry in the sun next to the piece that was previously removed. Once the last section is brought up, the crew will arrange for it to be transferred to a conservation organization in Mexico where it will be destroyed. They do not want it going to a landfill where it would probably get repaired and put back into service.

It was a bittersweet day. I felt good about doing something positive, but it was a stark reminder of how humans continue to rape the oceans.

The next day, we saw a boat anchored about 300 meters from us. Keep in mind that we had not seen another boat at the Revillagigedos, other than the single Mexican Navy boat at the Naval Station and their skiff, and that the islands are 260 miles from the mainland. It was a small, uncovered panga style boat, perhaps 20 to 25 feet long, with no name on it. Four persons were onboard. They had about 15 large gasoline containers. In order to have a place to sleep, they pulled the containers out and floated them in a line, the empties riding high and the full ones just poking above water level. After a terse conversation with them, they claimed to have come down from La Paz (about 350 miles), but did not state what their purpose here was. Fishing is illegal in the Revillagigedos and they did not have enough room on the tiny boat to bring back much fish anyway. They had to have spent a thousand or more dollars on fuel. They weren't here for a pleasure cruise - most likely they were either running cocaine or shark finning. My guess is that they were wannabe sharkfinners, hoping to make a quick buck.

I don't have any photos of the net but I may get some from some of the guests who were able to shoot it. If I do, I will post them here so you can see what it looked like.