The Plastics Problem - Undermining Conservation:

Today’s anglers expect performance. Both tournament pros and recreational anglers want fishing lures that look great and perform perfectly every time. They expect fishing lures to be durable, able to withstand repeated strikes, frequent encounters with rocks, and resist UV exposure. 

For more than half a century the fishing tackle industry has produced artificial baits utilizing time tested materials and methods. Making lures from petroleum based plastics has been the standard. 

Producing hard lures and soft baits from plastic is a well-known and well understood process. Mass production of plastic fishing lures doesn’t require sophisticated tooling or nanotechnology. The machinery is basic, the raw materials are affordable, and production yields are high. Plastics used to make these products have predictable densities, the right stiffness, and inherent molding characteristics that make a much desired swimming action easily repeatable.

Fishing tackle manufacturers have invested heavily in molds and equipment, and manufacturing with plastics has provided the best balance of performance, durability, cost and efficiency that’s compatible with high-volume production methods like injection molding or plastisol casting. The range of plastics used depends on whether they are making soft baits, hard baits, skirts or components.

These are some of the most common plastic resins used today:

• Acrylic’s (PMMA): these provide excellent clarity and are used when a glass like appearance is desired. 
• ABS: tough, impact resistant and easy to mold into precise shapes. It's widely used for hard-bodied crankbaits and jerkbaits. 
• Polycarbonate: extremely impact resistant and resists fracturing and cracking. It’s perfect in conditions where rugged conditions are encountered.
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): combined with plasticizers for producing soft, highly flexible worms, swim baits, and grubs. It readily accepts colors, oil soluble scents and salt additives. 
• Polycaprolactone (PCL) and related Diols: matrix material for a best selling soft bait brand. Advertised as biodegradable, non-toxic and safe. However, recent work has shown that commercial “moldable” PCL products can display acute toxicity, endocrine activity and nuclear receptor activation, with effects traced not to the pure polymer (bait material), but to residual chemicals and degradation-related components within the product. If lost, these chemicals leach into the environment.

Thermoplastic elastomers

• (TPE or TPR): is more elastic and tear resistant than plastisol, with some formulations that are naturally buoyant. These are often marketed as “super durable” and “highly elastic” soft materials.
• Silicone Rubber: occasionally used for specialized baits, and is a common material used to produce “skirts” or full-bodied lures. It has excellent color retention and doesn’t stick together.
• Natural Latex: less durable than silicone and is an older material that works well in cold water.
• Jig Heads and Terminal Tackle: powder coated epoxy or polyester finishes. Vinyl coatings with UV-cured resin clear coats
• Eyes and Accessories: use a wide variety of resins, including: ABS, epoxy domes, and polyurethane resins.

Conventional Plastic Lures & Soft Baits - Environmental Cost:

The consequence of fishing with a sleek looking artificial lure comes with an ecological cost. The problems arise not only from the plastic material itself, but also from the plasticizers and catalyst chemicals used to produce them. Public awareness concerning the dangers associated from plastics is increasingly recognized, but replacing these materials without sacrificing fishing performance has proven to be a nearly impossible engineering challenge for the tackle industry. Because there are few regulations in most jurisdictions specifically prohibiting the use of plastics in recreational fishing lures, the fishing tackle industry continues along with little incentive to change.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and quoted in several conservation and industry pages, it’s estimated that at least 20 million pounds (9,000 metric tons) of soft plastic lures are lost in U. S. waters each year. Some sources using similar assumptions, extrapolate to hundreds of thousands of tons globally, if you multiply average per angular losses by the total number of recreational anglers, but those are rough back of the napkin calculations, not official statistics.

Every year, these lost or discarded plastic fishing lures and soft plastics pollute the global ecosystem. Plastic lures and soft baits gradually erode, leach toxic chemicals into the environment, or become a durable but an unintended food source for fish, birds, turtles, or other wildlife. Over time, through the process of abrasion and UV exposure, lost or discarded fishing lures (referred to as “Ghost Fishing,”), fragment into smaller and smaller plastic particles forming “microplastics” that persist for years carrying both their own additives or other pollutants into the aquatic food chain, devastating the natural environment.