If Nets Could Talk

What would they say?

By Sydney Luitgaarden

September 16th, 2023

The nets we pull all have stories. They had previous lives before we stumbled upon them. They had jobs, duties, and important tasks. They captured food for communities and provided jobs for people. However, we find them sitting there hopelessly, snagged on the lively reef, waiting for a big swell to bring them to their next resting spot.

If these nets could talk, what would they say? Would they tell us the tragic stories of the countless reefs they destroyed as they lost control and bulldozed their way through? Would they tell us about the animals they have met on their journey, the ones that they let free and the ones that were not so lucky? Would they tell us how they intertwined themselves with other forgotten nets creating vast floating masses? Would they tell us what they did before, where they came from, and who forgot them?

We meet these nets in all stages of their lives. The young ones are still floating at the surface entangled with other forgotten nets. They hang on by only strands to the long fingers of the corals. They grasp tightly, transferring their unbearable weight to the small yellow coral, but they can only hang on for so long. The long, destructive journey of these young nets has just begun. Other nets are old and fully embedded in the reef. They are barely recognizable to their old selves. Baby corals anchor themselves to these strands making it their new home. Faced with no other choice, the existing corals have encapsulated the fibers of the net.

 The untold stories of these nets remain a mystery. How they got here, where they traveled from, and what they have seen on their journey. Hints of their adventures are sprinkled throughout their masses. Evidence of their destruction lays in the coral rubble ensnared in their core. No one will ever know the true stories of these nets. If only these nets could talk.

Meet the Author

Sydney Luitgaarden

Learn more about Sydney here!