Abandoned fishing gear in the sea can be extremely hazardous to marine life, and one man in Singapore recently witnessed its devastating consequences firsthand.

Vincent Choo is a citizen scientist who volunteers for intertidal surveys with the National Parks Board (NParks) and WildSingapore, run by veteran naturalist Ria Tan.

During an intertidal survey on Feb. 10 at Pasir Ris Park, Choo came across a large drift net laying across the shore of the beach.

Drift nets, or gill nets, are long nets that lie perpendicular to the bottom of the water body or ocean bed.

These nets can span kilometres, indiscriminately trapping any marine life.

Choo estimated the drift net at Pasir Ris to be around 100m long.

He told Mothership that although it was quite heavy, he managed to drag it further up the shore.

The net had ensnared numerous creatures, and Choo counted seven dead adult stingrays caught in its grasp.

There were two dead stingray pups, and Choo speculated in a Facebook post that the pups had likely been born prematurely when their mother went into shock after being caught in the net.

The net had also trapped nine horseshoe crabs, including one that had already died.

Other marine creatures entangled in the net included a dead sea jelly (more commonly known as jellyfish), the body parts of several dead flower crabs, and one fish.

Choo also found 12 moon crabs that were still alive.

Choo took around an hour to carefully cut free the critters that were still alive and release them back into the sea.

He shared that the sight of the death the drift net had caused was a painful one.

"The sight of the suffering and death is really hard to take, while I slowly dragged the net up to the upper shore to prevent more animal being caught and releasing as many living ones as I could."

Drift netting considered "destructive"

The long net had trapped not only sea life, but also an abundance of trash such as straws, plastic bags and bottles, as well as other debris.

Choo said that abandoned drift nets are not a common sight.

However, he claims to have seen people using such gear at Pasir Ris, East Coast and Changi.

According to NParks, drift netting is considered a "destructive" fishing method as it tends to trap creatures that are not being targeted.

Net fishing and wire mesh traps are not allowed in areas managed by NParks, director of NParks' National Biodiversity Centre Karenne Tun previously told CNA.

Currently, fishing is allowed in specific zones at:

• Changi Beach Park and Changi Boardwalk
• East Coast Park
• Labrador Nature Reserve
• Pasir Ris Park
• Pulau Ubin
• Sembawang Park
• West Coast Park
• Woodlands Waterfront Park

Fishing is not allowed at:

• Sisters' Islands Marine Park
• Coney Island Park
• Admiralty Park
• Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Members of the public are advised to remove their nets and traps after fishing, and to practice catch-and-release for juvenile fishes, or endangered and threatened species.

Top photo courtesy of Vincent Choo