Dear Subscriber First Name,

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative® (GGGI) has had a productive spring! First, we would like to announce the publication of our 2025 Annual Report, which is linked below. Additionally, we are announcing a new grant opportunity in collaboration with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program. We will be active at various in-person events this spring and summer, including Seafood Expo Global, Our Ocean Conference, and International Maritime Organization’s MEPC84. We also have some updates from past events including various workshops in the Pacific, the Caribbean, the United States (U.S.), and international events. We also have updates on the GGGI’s NANCI project, three GGGI member highlights, and a recent book publication regarding managing marine plastic in Norway. Finally, we announce Ocean Conservancy’s partnership with the U.S. SailGP team and welcome three new members to the GGGI!

The GGGI loves celebrating the successes of its members! As always, if you have any Abandoned, Lost, Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) related news that you would like to share in the next newsletter, please email

caitie@ghostgear.org.

The 2025 GGGI Annual Report is now live!

The year 2025 was another remarkable one for the GGGI! We celebrated the GGGI’s 10th anniversary, further expanded our NANCI, Caribbean, and Pacific Northwest signature projects, and updated our Data Portal (including the Resource Library). We continued our engagement in international fora, including the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) and the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), and hosted numerous workshops and training sessions around the world.

The 2025 Annual Report details the successes of the GGGI members over the last year—huge thanks to everyone who contributed! We're always extremely proud of what we're able to achieve together as a collective. Some of the highlights in the report include:

● Foreword from the Government of Panama

● Driving the Discussion on ALDFG

● Key Achievements in 2025

● Joanna Toole Legacy

● 2025 GGGI Membership

● Work Stream and Project Updates

● Conferences and Events

● GGGI Member Highlights

● Looking Ahead

The GGGI team wishes to sincerely thank all of our members who help to make all of this work possible. We continue to be inspired by everyone around the world working so hard every day to drive solutions to ALDFG!

Ocean Conservancy recently launched a competitive process to support local entities conducting at-sea or shoreline removals of ghost gear or large marine debris, as well as prevent reaccumulation in United States coastal waters and the Great Lakes. Supported by a 2024 award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Marine Debris Program, this competitive process will award projects focused on debris in remote, hard-to-reach marine environments; bulky debris requiring special resource to remove, such as boat parts (no vessels), construction materials and tires; and ghost gear.

The majority of Subawards will range from $75,000 - $125,000 USD, with a minimum Subaward of $50,000 USD and a maximum Subaward of $200,000 USD. Projected start dates will be late summer 2026, with an average project duration of 18 - 20 months, which includes a mandatory environmental compliance review period prior to any field activity.

For additional information on eligibility and how to apply, please visit the Ocean Conservancy website. Applications will be accepted until the deadline of 5:00 PM EDT on May 31.

We encourage you to forward this message to other organizations or contacts who may be interested or eligible to apply. Please direct all questions related to this opportunity to LMDproposals@oceanconservancy.org.

Ocean Conservancy’s Protect Where We Play and Global Ghost Gear Initiative are partnering with the U.S. SailGP Team to tackle ghost gear. SailGP is a high speed, high technology sail boat racing series that competes in 13 races in coastal waters around the world. In addition to the racing championship, teams also compete in an Impact League that rewards teams for taking environmental actions and making sailing more accessible. A healthy ocean is vital to this sport, so as part of this Impact League, the U.S. SailGP Team will be working with Ocean Conservancy and the GGGI to help raise awareness and funds for global solutions to ALDFG.

View the launch video here, and learn more about this exciting collaboration here.

In-Person Participation at Future Events

Seafood Expo Global - Barcelona, Spain

GGGI Corporate Partnerships Manager Sara Pfeifer will be on the ground at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona from April 21 - 23 and would be thrilled to meet up with GGGI members. Please reach out to her directly to coordinate.

Additionally, on Wednesday, April 22 at 10am in Room 4.2 (located on the upper floor within Hall 4 of the Fira) Tri Marine, GGGI, and MSC will unite to showcase the soft launch of Tri Marine’s Ghost Gear Blueprint for their Tuna Supply Chain. We invite any who will be present to attend this event, where you will learn about one approach that industry can take toward developing a holistic ghost gear strategy.

Our Ocean Conference - Mombasa, Kenya

The GGGI will be attending the Our Ocean Conference hosted in Mombasa, Kenya from June 16 to 18. This year’s theme - Our Ocean, Our Heritage, Our Future - celebrates the living connection between people and the ocean. It reflects the heritage, cultures, and coastal communities shaped by the sea, and it calls for a shared commitment to secure a resilient, just, and thriving ocean for generations to come. If anyone would like to meet with the GGGI delegation while we’re there, please let us know.

IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC 84) - London, UK

The IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MPEC) will convene its 84th session (MPEC84) at the end of this month. Australia has submitted a paper calling on Member States to implement voluntary lost gear reporting effective immediately whilst work continues on advancing mandatory lost-gear reporting.

The GGGI has submitted a paper with the Clean Shipping Coalition (CSC) and Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) in support of Australia’s proposal with the clear caveat that voluntary reporting should be an interim measure and not to be considered in place of mandatory lost-gear reporting. GGGI’s Global Policy Lead Hannah Pragnell-Raasch will work alongside GGGI member governments in preparation for MEPC 84 ahead of participating virtually in the proceedings taking place from April 27 – May 1.

Past Events

International Workshop on Mitigation of FAD Loss and Abandonment in the Pacific Ocean - Papeete, Tahiti

GGGI Corporate Partnerships Manager Sara Pfiefer attended the International Workshop on Mitigation of FAD Loss and Abandonment in the Pacific Ocean in Tahiti from February 9 – 11. This workshop was the second of its kind, following the initial International FAD Retrieval Workshop held in the Galapagos Islands in May 2024. Representatives included fisheries managers and government representatives from across the Pacific Islands and the Americas, buoy tracking technology providers, fishing associations, scientific agencies and academia, researchers, Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) staff from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), environmental NGOs, companies in the seafood supply chain, and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

The workshop aimed to develop effective measures to remediate FAD impacts using the considerable research and data collection on FAD stranding potential and events. Attendees generally agreed that promoting retrieval through RFMO Conservation and Management Measures (CMMs) would be a lengthy process compared to other alternatives. Regionally based FAD Watch programs, where FADs are recovered at sea or at a stranding site in a coordinated manner using geolocating technology (e.g., a GPS tracking buoy), are generally effective. Organizations are developing funding mechanisms to support these programs regionally and internationally to ensure consistent funding. GGGI will continue to engage in this space to help find solutions to lost and abandoned FADs.

IMO Sub-Committee of Pollution, Prevention, and Response 13th Session - London, UK

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention Response (PPR) convened for its 13th Session (PPR 13) from February 9 – 13. GGGI’s Global Policy Lead Hannah Pragnell-Raasch participated virtually. The GGGI supported he preparation of a submission led by Germany (the European Union) and co-sponsored by Canada and Vanuatu on mandatory gear-marking. The GGGI also led the preparation of a comment paper submitted under the) CSC and FOEI in support of the gear-marking submission and reiterated the links between gear-marking and lost gear reporting in order to help elevate both at PPR 13. PPR 13 also saw the establishment of a Working Group on Marine Plastic Litter from Ships (the work stream under which ALDFG measures fall). With regard to fishing gear, the working group was ordered to:

1. Conduct a review of the Strategy to address marine plastic litter from ships (resolution MEPC.341(77), and combine the draft revised Strategy and the 2025 Action Plan (resolution MEPC.404(83)) under a single draft MEPC resolution, taking into account documents PPR 13/11, MEPC 83/8 and MEPC 83/8/1, as well as the updated grouping of short-, mid-, long-term and continuous actions (PPR 12/16/Add.1, annex 8).

2. Develop a draft MEPC circular to promote the implementation of fishing gear marking systems and the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for the Marking of Fishing Gear.

We were disappointed that lost-gear reporting was deferred to PPR 14. GGGI will continue to work alongside Member States and Observers alike under CSC to continue to elevate prioritization of these work packages and advance the provisions being considered for ALDFG at both PPR and MEPC.

Seafood Expo North America - Boston, USA

GGGI Corporate Partnerships Manager Sara Pfeifer attended the Seafood Expo North America (SENA) virtually this year. She presented remotely in the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) panel discussion titled “Ghost Gear: Protecting Ocean Health and Seafood Supply Chain” on March 15. She provided an overview of ghost gear and described the efforts of the GGGI’s seafood industry members to address ghost gear in their supply chains. The panel included several GGGI members including the Gulf of Marine Lobster Foundation, International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, and Blue Ocean Gear.

HELCOM ALDFG Workshop - Virtual

On March 9, the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (HELCOM) hosted the First Informal Consultation Workshop on measures targeting ALDFG. The day-long workshop saw the convening of HELCOM Contracting Parties [countries] and Observer organizations to discuss actions pertaining to ALDFG under HELCOM’s Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter. GGGI’s Global Policy Lead Hannah Pragnell-Raasch was invited to deliver an update on GGGI’s work and provide the international scene-setting for the day’s proceedings. The actions discussed were proposed following the analysis conducted by PERMAGOV on ALDFG governance performance in the Baltic region. Proposed actions were organized across six thematic areas including governance and strategic partnerships, best available technologies and environmental practices, lost gear reporting and data management, gear marking, waste management, and cross-cutting items.

Caribbean Regional Workshop on Gear Marking - Crown Point, Trinidad & Tobago

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) are working on the “REBYC-III CLME+” project focused on reducing bycatch and promoting responsible fisheries in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems specifically Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. As part of this project, UWI hosted a workshop on specific measures and technologies to address ALDFG and assess potential gear-marking solutions to facilitate reporting, retrieval, and traceability in Tobago on March 11 – 13. The workshop was focused on:

• Establishing a shared regional understanding of ALDFG drivers and impacts in the Caribbean

• Introducing the FAO risk-based assessment framework and feasibility analysis of potential technologies and incentive mechanisms to address ALDFG and ghost fishing

• Assessing feasibility of mitigation measures and applying the FAO gear-marking framework

• Examining various fishing gear marking technologies and their potential role in mitigating ALDFG in the region, with a focus on methods that are practical, cost-effective, and feasible for implementation in selected fisheries

• Translating assessment results into concrete pilot actions and linking prevention with retrieval and recycling pathways.

GGGI Associate Director Joel Baziuk participated virtually in the workshop and gave a presentation on the work that GGGI has done in the Caribbean region as part of its Caribbean Signature Project, working closely with the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI), and others to develop a regional ALDFG action plan for the Caribbean and potential gear-marking options that might be suitable for fisheries in the Caribbean. GGGI Project Coordinator for Latin America Claudia Cecilia Olimon also gave a remote presentation on the GGGI’s North American Net Collection Initiative and how some of the lessons learned in that project could be applied in a Caribbean context.

Global Research & Innovation in Plastics Sustainability (GRIPS) 2026 - Virtual

On January 20 - 22, 2026, Innovate UK hosted the 5th Global Research & Innovation in Plastics Sustainability (GRIPS) conference. The event was held entirely online and was focused on bringing together companies, individuals and change makers to highlight the best international innovations and business models, which will lead to plastics being more sustainable globally.

GGGI Associate Director Joel Baziuk hosted a panel discussion on ALDFG under the Plastic Pollution pillar, where GGGI members Jameson Buffmire (BUOY.fish), Dr. Sol Milne (ARRI Global), and Chloe Dubois (Ocean Legacy Foundation) presented on their work around innovation in the ALDFG space. Jameson presented on Buoy-fish’s low power, high range wireless area network (LoRaWAN) technology fish tracking buoys, which the GGGI has successfully tested with fishers in Punta Abreojos, Mexico and Nova Scotia, Canada and how they can help fishers prevent gear from getting lost in the first place. Sol presented his pioneering work using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) to detect fishing gear in near-shore coastal environments and leveraging AI in their COORDINET platform to detect ALDFG in UAV imagery to enable efficient data gathering and coordinates for removal operations. Chloe presented her downstream solution to plastic pollution including fishing gear, combining large-scale coastal cleanup operations and collection of plastic pollution and end-of-life fishing gear to put back into the circular economy via the Ocean Legacy Foundation’s recycling facility in Steveston, British Columbia.

You can view the full panel discussion and question and answer period here.

From Sea to Solution Ghost Gear Workshop - Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada

Nature New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Environmental Network hosted a workshop in Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada, titled “From Sea to Solution: Working Together on Ghost Gear Management in Atlantic Canada,” on Mach 26 – 27. This event brought together various stakeholders from the region, including Indigenous groups, fishers, NGOs, and government representatives, with the goal of understanding ALDFG in Atlantic Canada and identifying solutions. GGGI Membership Specialist Caitie Frenkel presented on the GGGI and root causes of ghost gear globally, touching on reasons for gear loss that could be applicable to Atlantic Canada. We look forward to reading their workshop summary report!

Ghost Gear Discussion at the Mexican Senate

On March 4, the Mexican Oceans Caucus, with the support of GGGI partners Humint Mexico and ICCF México, led a “Dialogue Roundtable on Integrating Ghost Fishing Gear into Mexico’s Regulatory Framework.” The discussion brought together federal authorities, legislators, civil society, academia, and coastal communities to explore legislative solutions to address ALDFG, strengthen institutional coordination, and improve traceability and reporting mechanisms. GGGI’s Latin America Project Coordinator Claudia Cecilia Olimon presented a technical input for updating the current ALDFG legal framework. This dialogue contributes to Mexico’s international commitments around ALDFG and supports the development of a national roadmap (led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to prevent and manage ghost fishing gear in Mexican waters.

You can view the whole dialogue in Spanish here.

Hawaii Pacific University’s 2026 Marine Debris Circularity Academy Short Course

Registration is now open for June 29 – July 3. The course will include five days of professional workshops and hands-on training focused on marine debris circularity. This year’s program will emphasize Recycling Marine Debris, with additional options woven throughout the week covering select microplastics laboratory and marine debris forensics topics. HPU’s current capacity for this offering is 30 participants.

Tuition covers the cost to run the course and deliver training; it does not include travel to Hawaiʻi or lodging while on the island.

Tuition schedule:

• Standard: $1,900 (March 7 through April 30)

• Late: $2,500 (May 1 through course start)

If you have questions about fit, logistics, or what to expect during the week, please email jforakis@hpu.edu or jaxworthy@hpu.edu. Once you register, you’ll receive periodic updates in the coming months with recommended lodging options and other course logistics.

Click here to register

Aquatic Life Institute’s Report on Innovative Practices for Animal Welfare in Fisheries

The Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) recently published their fifth edition of the “Marine Capture Fisheries: Innovative Practices for Aquatic Animal Welfare” report. ALI publishes this report annually, highlighting the most innovative animal welfare practices for wild capture fisheries. This report includes a section on ALDFG, featuring examples of gear-locating and recovery devices and degradable escape panels and fishing gear.

Healthy Seas Webinar: Biodiversity, Beneath the Surface

As part of Healthy Seas’ Biodiversity Month, they will be hosting a webinar titled ‘Biodiversity, Beneath the Surface’ on May 5th at 4:00 p.m. CDT. This event will weave together storytelling, science, and real-world experience to explore biodiversity from different perspectives, including Healthy Seas’ work on ALDFG from ghost farms and its impacts on shipwreck ecosystems.

You can find more information about this webinar and register here.

Recent Book Publication: Managing Marine Plastic Pollution in Norway

A new book titled Managing Marine Plastic Pollution in Norway: Sustainable Circular Economy Solutions for Fisheries and Aquaculture was published in February with GGGI Expert Advisory Council member Dr. Paritosh C. Deshpande as one of the editors. This book establishes sustainable, circular value chains for managing fisheries and aquaculture plastics based on the Shift-Plastics research project. It combines perspectives from various stakeholders (e.g., academia, industry, public bodies) with different scientific disciplines (e.g., technology, policy, economics, environmental, design and systems thinking) to improve plastic handling in Norway’s fishery and aquaculture industries. While this work is based in Norway, the book can also be a reference tool for other countries internationally.

This book is available for open access here, and a hard copy can be purchased here.

Welcome To Our New GGGI Members!

The GGGI membership continues to grow! Please welcome our newest members: the Karingani Game Reserve, Ecotribo, PELAGICS, and Nuplas Solutions! We look forward to our future work together!