A sad fact that defenders of the plastic bag will often use as a comeback is this: The majority of plastic waste in the oceans of the world comes from commercial fishing. I’m not sure what the actual percentages are and I’m guessing that nobody else is either. I did see way too many tangled up nets on the shore in Tunisia.
I spent a lot of my youth trout fishing in the wilderness of Nova Scotia. I remember seeing some plastic waste from recreational fishing as well. Tangles of fishing line, and snagged lures weren’t a surprise. I was pretty judgmental towards the people who tossed the packaging for their fishing gear in and around the lakes and streams and even more so towards the ones who left a pile of garbage from an overnight stay.
Sport-fishing involves some self imposed handicaps and some that are put in place by governments. If you are a fisherman, try to do it without adding to the already disturbing amount of plastic waste in our environment.
Commercial fishing contributes a LOT to the problem of plastic in the ocean