Demise of Soft Plastics

[mastercaster]

I have also heard the future of soft plastics in NZ may come under threat if much more evidence of "littering" is found especially in the Hauraki area.
Reports state that spent or lost SP's are all over the place on the sea bed and shorelines and fish can freely pickup the drifting enticements at thier leisure, mistaking them for the real thing for dinner.
At HotShotz, we have greatly diminished our stock of SP's since hearing this and now only do a few rigs with them fitted. Who knows where this may end???

[ThomasW]

I would start taking notice when I see something much more official then rumors floating around the Internet. One brand of gum based baits dominate the market, while they do not break down instantly they would be less permanent then synthetic plastic baits which have a much smaller market share.

When I go for dives I see much more nylon and sinkers littering the sea floor then soft-baits. That might be because the local spoty populations nibble them to bits and consume the bait.

[mastercaster]

The report I received personally was from an operator/retailer in the lower Hauraki area who dives where he fishes.
The problem is far greater than you will see in Marlborough due to pressure and the prevalence of soft plastics versus other methods.
He was so adamant about the affect on the resource, he dropped sp's from his shop wall in favour of traditional fishing tackle as a direct result. He did not want to be seen to be supporting such littering in his preferred area.
This is simply based from fact, not rumour so is well founded.
The greatest occupancy of the sea bed is actually the brand you refer to, the one with the biggest market share, that isn't "bio-degradable" under water.
In shallow water, it is considered the plastic baits will degrade faster due to the affect UV rays have on them. The other "gum based" ones do not.
Quite an ironic finding really.

I agree though, Nylon and sinkers are obviously going to be more widespread due to every fishing method utilising these materials.
Stone sinkers are a bloody good start and I have used these to very good effect. If snagged they go back from where they came.
Wainuiomata beach is an ideal spot to find perfect sinkers in their raw state. Many are elongated and finger like, excellent casting sinkers!

[ThomasW]

Gulp would eventually decomposes it might not be instant but it would happen, they are the most common on the sea floor because they have most of the market share. I have heard that in fresh water they take between a month and a year, uncertain of their life expectancy in salt but I suspect they would take longer to decompose. Might take longer, they contain a large proportion of starch which takes ages to decompose. I also heard that food source lures dissolve completely within 3 weeks. They might take a while to decompose but they do minimal harm to the environment.

The plastic ones break down but many do not decompose, they simply break into smaller bits of plastics until they become to small to see by the human eye, but it could still be floating around in the water column. In saying that, the amount of pollutant from normal household rubbish which end up in the sea is significantly greater then from soft plastics.

Here is a somewhat interesting site which shows how long it takes biodegradable plastic worms to break down compared with standard plastics. It is a marketing site by the company producing the worms so caution is advise.

http://www.marukyu.com/eng/ecogear/biodegradableworm/biodegradableworm.html

[geno]

Ecofriendly, biodegradeable, contemporary buzzwords yada yada. Heard it all before.
Next thing you know those making bucks from this crap will be claiming SP's are helping to combat GW and GH gas emissions... but they'll have to commission the right "scientist" to report only his findings that 'conveniently' fit the employing manufacturer's agenda.

Importers/retailers don't give a sh!t what you do with their product once they've got your buck. They LIKE you to lose them and buy more.
Take a look at a few dead seabird skeletons in areas of high SP use... check the gut area and identify the remnants of their feed.... may be a bit of an eye opener!!
If a seagull's gut juices can't digest this crap then, apart from hopeful anglers, just how many other creatures are being killed by these things?

I reckon too many people too quickly believe too much of what they read and then simply repeat what they've read.
I simply wouldn't believe everything I read.
In my experience, statistics are mostly used by those quoting them only when it is in their favour or 'convenient' to do so. And we all know how statistics can be used to support any argument.
Remember PCBs Dioxin 1080...? Add SPs to the list.