Dear Subscriber First Name,

Thank you for reading our first newsletter of 2026! December and January were busy months for the GGGI leadership team, with the attendance of several in-person and virtual events and continued work in Mexico and Canada as part of NANCI. We have updates from several GGGI members, including Hawai’i Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research, the Local Independent Sea Anglers, and Myanmar Ocean Project. We would also like to share a call for abstracts for the “Atlantic Plastics 2026—Third International Symposium on Marine Plastic Pollution: Arctic to the Antarctic.” And finally, we welcome three new members to the GGGI!

The GGGI loves celebrating the successes of its members! As always, if you have any ALDFG related news that you would like to share in the next newsletter, please email caitie@ghostgear.org.

Inspiring Action Across North America

The GGGI presented the final outcomes of the project “Engaging Local Communities to Prevent, Reduce and Retrieve Ghost Gear in North America.” We are partnered with the Commission for Environment Cooperation (CEC) to engage local communities to prevent, reduce, and retrieve ghost gear, while building knowledge to advance responsible management of active and end-of-life fishing gear. A final project webinar took place on December 9th, 2025, offering updates, resources, and reflections on the project’s accomplishments.

Nova Scotia Gear Tracking Pilot

In October 2025, the GGGI traveled to Nova Scotia, Canada, to host a hands-on workshop with GGGI members Buoy-Fish and Wesward Venture Fisheries to train local fishers how to use new tracking buoys to view their gear in real-time and reduce gear loss. These new buoys, using low-power, high-range wireless technology (LoRaWAN) and mounted on fishing buoys made by Go-Deep, have been successfully tested in Mexico as part of our NANCI Signature Project. For this pilot, we worked with local fishers in the Canadian lobster fishery in the Bay of Fundy to test the buoys in a very different environment and provide feedback for future improvements to the tech. This work was completed with funding from the CEC.

Mexico Develops a New Ghost Gear Diagnosis

As part of the investment of the Sustainable Fisheries Plan (PPS), Mexico is developing a national diagnosis and roadmap to strengthen the prevention, management, and reduction of ghost fishing nets. This study is supported by the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and the French Development Agency (AFD) and is conducted by Humint, a Mexican consulting firm. The first of three intersectoral workshops was conducted on December 10, 2025, for the national assessment, hosting 55 participants. Workshop attendees discussed the state of the problem in Mexico, the study’s analytical approach and methodology, challenges, opportunities, and how to identify progress in the study. The GGGI provided technical input including Mexico’s first ghost gear policy brief, predictive model, and legal analysis to assist the new and on-going study. We look forward to seeing how this work progresses after the workshops!

In December, 2025, the GGGI leadership team participated in a number of international and regional policy meetings including the 7th Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), the OSPAR Commission’s Intersessional Correspondence Group on Marine Litter (ICG-ML), and the 22nd Regular Session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC22). Additionally, the GGGI leadership team participated in two virtual events in January, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM)’s Webinar on Ghost Gear from Recreational Fishing and the Global Research and Innovation in Plastics Sustainability conference (GRIPS).

UNEA-7

Taking place from 8th-12th December 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, UNEA-7 saw the seventh session of the world’s highest-level environmental decision-making forum. UNEA plays a crucial role in ocean conservation by bringing governments together to set global priorities and craft policies to confront major environmental threats such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss, which are all issues central to ocean health. Its agenda on building a resilient planet and advancing sustainable solutions can translate directly into stronger actions to protect and restore marine ecosystems. During the course of the week, eleven resolutions and three decisions were approved. However, several ocean-relevant proposals were withdrawn due to lack of consensus. As a Steering Committee member, Felipe Victoria, Ocean Conservancy Senior Manager-Multilateral Affairs, participated in side events and discussions with the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) and the Science-Policy Panel. Felipe highlighted the GGGI’s global Data Portal and the importance of yielding quantitative ALDFG and end-of-life gear data and the urgency for integration with international policy and interlinkages across multilateral environmental agreements. This is of particular importance as we continue in the extended period of the International Legally Binding Instrument to end plastic pollution.

OSPAR ICG-ML

December also saw the virtual convening of OSPAR’s Intersessional Correspondence Group on Marine Litter from 8th-10th December - co-convened by Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. As an Observer organization, GGGI Global Policy Lead, Hannah Pragnell-Raasch, joined OSPAR’s 16 Contracting Parties to discuss advances in data, monitoring and assessment in the region as well as the implementation plan for the 2nd Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, including specific actions to address ALDFG and EOL gear. Additionally, the integration and coordination across regional and international policy frameworks including the EU Commission, INC, and IMO also formed an integral part of the discussions—fostering coordination, cohesion and complementarity across fora.

WCPFC

From December 1st -5th, GGGI’s partnerships manager, Sara Pfeifer, remotely attended the 22nd Regular Session of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) as an accredited NGO observer. For this particular agenda, the Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) Management Options Working Group and Marine Pollution items were most relevant to GGGI’s efforts to address ALDFG. Unfortunately, FAD management discussions did not result in any update to WCPFC’s current requirements. With respect to the Marine Pollution item, GGGI will continue contributing to and closely tracking Canada’s proposed amendment.

HELCOM Webinar on Ghost Gear from Recreational Fishing

On January 20th, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM), in Partnership with KIMO International, hosted a webinar titled “How can marking of recreational fishing gear help reduce gear loss?” While there has been much research on ghost gear originating from commercial fisheries, comparatively little is known the inputs from recreational fishing. Some organizations, such as GGGI member Local Independent Sea Anglers (LISA), have been working on this topic for years, and regional studies around the world have shown that gear loss from recreational fisheries is significant. However, the global knowledge on the frequency and impact of gear loss from recreational fisheries is still a nascent issue.

To help address this, the European Union (EU) has implemented new gear-marking regulations as of January 10, 2026, for passive recreational fishing gear (excluding handheld gear) in an attempt to help reduce gear loss and promote responsible fishing practices. They have also implemented new regulations for EU member states to report to the European Commission (EC) details on the quantity, location, and catch method for all species caught in recreational fisheries starting May 31st, 2027.

During this webinar, GGGI Associate Director Joel Baziuk gave a presentation on the GGGI’s upcoming Best Practice Framework for the Management of Recreational Fishing Gear, which is currently being developed by Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management, set for release in Fall 2026. If anyone has any interest in participating in the stakeholder feedback process for this document, which will likely commence in Spring 2026, please reach out to info@ghostgear.org.

GGGI Panel at GRIPS 2026

The Global Research and Innovation in Plastics Sustainability conference (GRIPS) brings together companies and individuals from around the world to highlight international innovations and business models which aim to make plastics more sustainable globally. GGGI was invited to host a panel on innovations related to ghost gear at GRIPS 2026 on January 21, 2026. GGGI Associate Director Joel Baziuk moderated a panel with GGGI members Jameson Buffmire from Buoy-Fish, Dr. Sol Milne from the Aerial Recon and Recovery Initiative (ARRI), and Chloe Dubois form Ocean Legacy Foundation highlighting their respective efforts to address ghost gear.

In 2018, the Local Independent Sea Anglers (LISA) launched the Angler’s National Line Recycling Scheme (ANLRS) program to help collect and recycle recreational fishing gear around the United Kingdom. LISA was one of the first organizations to research ALDFG from recreational sources and identify hot spots for ALDFG removal, collection, and transportation for recycling. The ANLRS has since expanded to include commercial fishing gear and now has several collection points for both recreational and commercial fishing gear along the Sussex coast. Supported by GGGI funding, this highly successful program recovered and recycled approximately 2.5 metric tonnes of ALDFG from this region in 2025. This included approximately 52,000 metres of lines, 153 lead weights, 223 bare hooks, 48 baited hooks, 121 sets of feathers, 45 lures, and 2,051 commercial fishing net fragments. This Facebook reel illustrates some of the work that goes into ANLRS. Members from LISA shared their expertise running the ANLRS program as keynote speakers at the European Fishing Tackle Trades Association summit in Berlin in December, 2025. Keep up to date with the ANLRS and their initiatives via their Facebook page.

Myanmar Ocean Project

Long time GGGI member Myanmar Ocean Project (MOP) became an affiliate project with the Manta Trust Affiliate Network. MOP was founded in 2018 to protect Myanmar’s marine ecosystems by reducing ALDFG impacts, increasing shark and ray research[AM1] , and increasing ocean literacy in local communities. Some of MOP’s key initiatives include their MOP DROP program which provides collection points for end-of-life nets in remote locations, their shark and ray surveys, and the Our Ocean, Our Home comic series. MOP DROP has been a highly successful program, collecting over 10 tonnes of ALDFG [AM2] from their three locations in the Myeik Archipelago: Sitat Galet Island (Lampi Marine Park), Langann Island (Langann Locally Managed Marine Area), Wel Kyun. These pontoons have become important features in these local communities, as fishers are actively using them [AM3] to dispose of their end-of-life fishing gear even without MOP staff being present on site. Affiliation with the Manta Trust will provide MOP with enhanced funding and networking opportunities, allowing MOP to continue to protect and research manta and devil rays in the Myeik Archipelago.

The Government of Iceland is hosting “Atlantic Plastics 2026—Third International Symposium on Marine Plastic Pollution: Arctic to the Antarctic” in Reykjavik, Iceland. This event will be held from October 20-22, 2026, and aims to convene a broad, interdisciplinary community to advance innovative science, technology, and policy solutions across various aspects of plastic pollution. For more information and to submit an abstract (due March 31, 2026), please visit their website.

Welcome To Our New GGGI Members!

The GGGI membership continues to grow! Please welcome our newest members: Buoy.fish, Comunidad y Biodiversidad (COBI), and the Earth Legacy Foundation! We look forward to working with them.