Nick Hawkins / Fishing ropes wrap around the head and mouth, damaging the baleen of a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglem...

Nick Hawkins / Fishing ropes wrap over the blowhole of a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of dea...

Enrique Lopez-Tapia / Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) caught in fishing nets on the island of Chiloe, Chile

Flip Nicklin / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with plastic six pack holder in mouth, Hawaii

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Antarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazella) young male on beach, entangled in green fishing net, deadly marine debris floating in all oceans, Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, Antarct...

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) entangled in net, Sri Lanka

Doug Gimesy / Rescued Grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) is released back into his Melbourne colony by wildlife carer Francois Malherbe. The bat was rescued several months earlier as a result of enta...

Nick Hawkins / North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) struggling to free itself from entanglement in fishing gear, showing wounds on tail fluke, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. August.

Nick Hawkins / Entanglement scars from fishing gear on the tail of a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. IUCN Status: Endangered. August

Nick Hawkins / Entanglement scars from fishing gear on the tail of a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. IUCN Status: Endangered. August

Nick Hawkins / A North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) struggles to free itself from being entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of...

Nick Hawkins / A North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) struggles to free itself from being entangled in fishing gear in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of...

Nick Hawkins / Fishing ropes wrap over the blowhole of a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of dea...

Nick Hawkins / Fishing ropes wrap over the blowhole of a severely entangled North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Canada. Fishing gear entanglement is a leading cause of dea...

David Perpinan / Old wound caused by entanglement with fishing lines or nets in a Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). Animal under rehabilitation. Spain. January 2013.

Hans Glader/ BIA / Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) flying with fishing line entangled around bill, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Nick Hawkins / North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) tail fluke with severe entanglement scars. Bay of Fundy, Canada, September.

Nick Hawkins / North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) with entanglement scars on the tail, aerial view, Bay of Fundy, Canada, September,.

Tony Wu / Female olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) recovering at the surface after being cut free from entanglement in a very large ghost fishing net in the Indian Ocean. After we cut the lines and re...

Chris & Monique Fallows / Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) killed by fishing line entanglement, on beach, False Bay, South Africa, May.

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / People installing shark exclusion nets designed to act as a barrier to sharks, but prevent capture or entanglement of marine animals. Fish Hoek Beach, near Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. July...

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / People installing shark exclusion nets designed to act as a barrier to sharks, but prevent capture or entanglement of marine animals. Fish Hoek Beach, near Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. July...

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / People installing shark exclusion nets designed to act as a barrier to sharks, but prevent capture or entanglement of marine animals. Fish Hoek Beach, near Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. July...

Cheryl-Samantha Owen / People installing shark exclusion nets designed to act as a barrier to sharks, but prevent capture or entanglement of marine animals. Fish Hoek Beach, near Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. July...

Nick Upton / Rescued Grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) 'Iron man' with severe injuries from entanglement in a fishing net, gradually healing in a convalescence pool where he was kept until strong enough to be rel...

Nick Upton / 'Iron man' a rescued Grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) with severe injuries from entanglement in a fishing net, gradually healing in a convalescence pool where he was kept until strong enough to be r...

Nick Upton / Rescued Grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) 'Joker' with severe injuries from entanglement in a fishing net. Kept in isolated nursery pool where it will be kept until strong enough to join other pups a...

Nick Upton / Rescued Grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) 'Joker' with severe injuries from entanglement in a fishing net. Kept in isolated nursery pool where it will be kept until strong enough to join other pups a...

Michael Durham / Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) pup with garbage wrapped around itself, North Seymour Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook / Galapagos Sea Lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) with a fishing hook stuck in its mouth, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Doug Perrine / Leatherback sea turtle, (Dermochelys coriacea) with scarring around right flipper base, almost certainly from entanglement in fishing gear, Parque Nacional Jaragua, Dominican Republic, Caribbean Sea

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Steller's Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) entangled pup being freed by stewardship students and instructor, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Ingo Arndt / Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) researcher trying to free animal entangled in wire ropes from old whaling station, Leith Harbor, South Georgia Island

Tui De Roy / Waved Albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) with a fishhook embedded in throat, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Fred Bavendam / Demon Stinger (Inimicus caledonicus) caught in derelict fishing net, an example of ghost fishing, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia

Fred Bavendam / Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) dead after becoming entangled in fishing net, Thailand

Michael Quinton / Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) juvenile with salmon fishing lure caught in bill, Alaska

Suzi Eszterhas / South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) sub-adult with fishing net around its neck, Hercules Bay, South Georgia Island

Suzi Eszterhas / South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) sub-adult with fishing net around its neck, Hercules Bay, South Georgia Island

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Antarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazella) young male on beach, entangled in green fishing net, deadly marine debris floating in all oceans, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Southern Ocean, Antarctic Conv...

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Antarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazella) young male on beach, entangled in green fishing net, deadly marine debris floating in all oceans, Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, Antarct...

Hermann Brehm / Black headed heron {Ardea melanocephala} predating a green snake that has wrapped itself around the heron's beak, head and neck, Kenya

Jose B. Ruiz / Greater flamingo {Phoenicopterus ruber} killed by entanglement in wire cable, Spain

Richard Du Toit / Black footed penguin {Spheniscus demersus} killed by fishing nets.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) entangled sub-adult male on beach, he was disentangled and freed, St Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) young bull entangled in net has swollen neck and cuts, Bering Sea, Saint George Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Flip de Nooyer / Western Marsh-Harrier (Circus aeruginosus) caught in barbed wire, Europe

Norbert Wu / Mobula Ray (Mobula lucasana) caught in gill net, Baja California, Mexico

Flip Nicklin / Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) with plastic band on dorsal fin, Hawaii

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) with net caught on jaw, Hawaii

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) with net caught on jaw, Hawaii

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) with fishing net caught on her jaw, Sri Lanka

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) entangled in net with divers trying to cut it loose, Sri Lanka

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) entangled in net, Sri Lanka

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) diving with fishing net caught on jaw, Sri Lanka

Flip Nicklin / Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) tail caught in net is cut off by diver, Sri Lanka

Tui De Roy / Illegal gillnet fishing officially banned since 1989 Illicit gill nets snare baby sharks in mangrove nurseries, Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Mitsuaki Iwago / Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Persian cat playing with balls of yarn on the floor

Ralph Pace / Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) hatchling entangled in fishing line, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica

Agustin Esmoris / Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) entangled in plastic, Chubut, Argentina

Agustin Esmoris / Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) entangled in plastic netting, Chubut, Argentina

Agustin Esmoris / Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) entangled in plastic, Chubut, Argentina

Agustin Esmoris / Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) entangled in plastic, Chubut, Argentina

Suzi Eszterhas / Western Gull (Larus occidentalis) rehabilitator, Isabel Luevano, removing fishing line and hook from entangled gull, International Bird Rescue, Fairfield, California

Volker Lautenbach/ BIA / Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) carcass with bill tangled in fishing line, Lower Saxony, Germany

Cyril Ruoso / Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) caught in mist net collector for banding, Ebakken, Nigeria

Kevin Schafer / Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) pair killed by discarded fishing nets, Baffin Island, Canada

Flip Nicklin / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) entangling fishing gear cutting into back, Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Maui, Hawaii - notice must accompany publication; photo obtained under NMFS...

Richard Du Toit / Barn Owl (Tyto alba) dead, entangled in barbed wire fence, Kalahari, South Africa

Gerry Ellis / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) orphan, Dika, has wire snare removed from leg by keepers Mishak and Benson, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

Sumio Harada / Elk (Cervus elaphus) male in snow with Christmas lights entangled in antlers, Canmore, Canada

Colin Seddon / Dead Common cormorant in fishing net. Scotland UK {Phalacrocorax carbo}

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), hanging upside down at Australian Bat Clinic. Important pollinators and seed dispersers in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting, listed as vuln...

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Close up of Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), , hanging upside down at Australian Bat Clinic. Captivity. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in...

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), hanging upside down at Australian Bat Clinic. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting, listed as vu...

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Close up of Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), hanging upside down at Australian Bat Clinic. Important pollinators and seed dispersers in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting, l...

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Yellow-bellied sheath-tail bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris) crawling at Australian Bat Clinic. Captivity. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Close up of Yellow-bellied sheath-tail bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris) face, at Australian Bat Clinic. Captivity. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in fruit ne...

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Eastern broad-nosed bat (Scotorepens orion), crawling at Australian Bat Clinic. Captivity. Important pollinators and seed dispersers in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Close up of Gould's long-eared bat (Nyctophilus gouldii) head, at Australian Bat Clinic. Captivity. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting.

Joel Sartore / Photo Ark / Gould's long-eared bat (Nyctophilus gouldii), flying at Australian Bat Clinic. Important pollinators and seed dispersers, in decline due to entanglement in fruit netting. Captivity.

Roland Seitre / Humboldt Penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) with net around its neck, Guanape Islands, Peru

Franco Banfi / Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) 'Digit' female with scar on tail from rope entanglement, Dominica, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean.