VIDEO: PROTECTING OUR OCEANS FROM GHOST TRAPS

There are thought to be over 360,000 tonnes of loose fishing gear floating through our oceans, these disregarded pieces of debris are a danger to our aquatic ecosystems, trapping fish, turtles, birds and even whales. 

Kurt Lieber assembled the Ocean Defender Alliance; a group of volunteer divers cleaning California's coasts of ghost nets and traps. People normally think that fishermen would pull stuff out of the ocean, but they often put stuff in too - in the form of fishing equipment like nets, lines and traps to catch Lobsters or Fish. 

When Kurt Lieber takes his 40-foor boat Clearwater out onto the ocean he always hopes for a big catch, but when you are angling for derelict fishing gear, a big catch is a mixed blessing. On the other hand, it means that he and his divers of the Ocean Defender Alliance have cleaned the ocean floor of lost equipment that is harming the marine ecosystem. It also points out how much junk exists, Lieber said that it is not unusual to find gear when he and his crowd head out onto the Pacific most weekends. Watch the video to see that not all heroes wear capes.