A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GLOBAL GHOST GEAR INITIATIVE

The GGGI has come a long way from its humble beginnings as an idea shared between a small group of people back in 2015. Ten years later, and with over 150 member organizations from around the world, the GGGI has become the world’s largest collective impact alliance dedicated to solving the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear.

Learn more about our journey below.

2015

  • Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) is officially launched by World Animal Protection in September, 2015 at Goodenough College in London, UK.

  • 54 member organizations from around the world sign the GGGI Statement of Support.

  • GGGI’s three work pillars are defined: 1) Building Evidence; 2) Defining Best Practice and Informing Policy; 3) Catalyzing and Replicating Solutions.

  • At this point, ghost gear is quite a niche issue. Some work is being done, but largely in isolation with no cohesive drive to push this issue to the front of the global agenda. The GGGI aims to change that paradigm.

2017

  • Third GGGI annual meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand.

  • Membership grows to 66 organizations.

  • First UN Ocean Conference in New York sees 12 governments officially join the GGGI (Dominican Republic, Independent State of Samoa, Kingdom of Belgium, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Tonga, New Zealand, Republic of Palau, Republic of Panama, Republic of Vanuatu, Tuvalu, United Kingdom).

  • GGGI working groups lay the foundation for GGGI data portal, Ghost Gear reporter app and Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear.

  • First ever GGGI-led panel discussion at the SeaWeb Sustainability Summit in Seattle.

  • GGGI signature projects in Vanuatu and Indonesia begin.

2019

  • Fifth GGGI annual meeting held in Panama City, Panama.

  • Membership grows to 102 organizations.

  • GGGI transitions from World Animal Protection to Ocean Conservancy as its new host organization.

  • Joanna Toole Solutions Award launched in collaboration with Joanna Toole Foundation and World Animal Protection in memory of GGGI co-founder Joanna Toole.

  • Norway joins the GGGI as the 15th member government.

  • GGGI introduces the Expert Advisory Council.

  • GGGI building evidence working group publishes its first paper on ghost gear.

2021

  • Membership grows to 122 organizations.

  • Iceland joins the GGGI as the 18th member government.

  • GGGI releases fully updated Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear, and the Best Practice Framework for the Management of Aquaculture Gear.

  • GGGI, WWF and Ocean Outcomes release Ghost Gear Legislation Analysis.

  • North American Net Collection Initiative (NANCI) launches as our first transboundary GGGI signature project.

  • GGGI signature project in the Pacific Northwest launches.

  • GGGI Small Grants Program officially launches.

  • GGGI becomes a strategic partner to the GloLitter Partnerships Program.

2023

  • Membership grows to 137 organizations.

  • Costa Rica, Germany and Trinidad and Tobago join the GGGI as the 21st, 22nd and 23rd member governments.

  • GGGI had a participates in INC-2 in Paris and INC-3 in Nairobi, engaging in both sessions to ensure that ALDFG is mentioned and addressed specifically in the text for the “Plastics Treaty”.

  • GGGI signs memorandums of understanding with the government of Panama and the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism outlining specific ways to work together to address ghost gear in the Caribbean and Central America.

  • GGGI launches our first-ever ongoing webinar series called “Let’s Talk Ghost Gear” (LTGG), providing GGGI members around the world with an opportunity to present their work and connect around ghost gear topics.

  • Working with Natural Resources Consultants, GGGI commissions ghost gear predictive model for Trinidad and Tobago.

  • GGGI Develops action play playbook for the seafood industry members.

2016

  • Second GGGI annual meeting held in Miami, Florida, USA.

  • Membership grows to 60 organizations.

  • Lots of debate in GGGI working groups around linking work around the world and adding value from different perspectives.

  • Still little if any conversation on ghost gear at major ocean and seafood conferences.

  • GGGI adopts a clear vision – bringing everyone around the table to develop lasting, clear eyed, long-term solutions to ghost gear.

2018

  • Fourth GGGI annual meeting held in Bali, Indonesia.

  • Membership grows to 95 organizations.

  • Canada and Montserrat join the GGGI as the 13th and 14th member governments.

  • Version 1.0 of our global data portal is launched in March at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference (6IMDC) in San Diego

  • 6IMDC has 9 sessions on ghost gear featuring GGGI members from around the world.

  • GGGI launches revised website with various resources and guidance documents freely available.

  • GGGI attends Seafood Expo North America for the first time, where Thai Union joins the GGGI and begins working on the seafood industry’s first dedicated work plan to address ghost gear.

  • GGGI presents at the plenary at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali, and makes commitments to address ghost gear at a global level.

  • GGGI signature projects in Maine, USA, Myanmar and the Caribbean begin.

2020

  • Membership grows to 117 organizations.

  • United States of America and Mexico join the GGGI as the 16th and 17th member governments.

  • Joanna Toole Internship launches with support from Joanna Toole Foundation.

  • GGGI provides technical guidance to ghost gear related measures in Global Seafood Alliance’s Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard.

  • GGGI develops first suite of online training tools for the seafood industry.

  • GGGI and WWF release ghost gear guidance document Effective Ghost Gear Solutions: Learning From what Works.

  • in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, GGGI begins hosting virtual roundtables to progress ghost gear agenda.

2022

  • Membership grows to 130 organizations.

  • Spain and South Korea join the GGGI as the 19th and 20th member governments.

  • GGGI releases Data Portal 2.0 with increased functionality, downloadable data, and built-in data agreements.

  • GGGI C-BPF is directly referenced in The Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) version 3.0 of their seafood certification standard, which includes strengthened language around ghost gear.

  • Working with Natural Resources Consultants, GGGI commissions a series of ghost gear predictive models for Grenada, Jamaica, Lake Erie, Mexico, Montserrat, Puget Sound (WA), and Vanuatu.

  • GGGI continues its Small Grants Program and Joanna Toole Solutions Award and internship programs.

  • GGGI produces two “fisher voices” videos, featuring perspectives on ALDFG from fishers in Vanuatu and Maine, USA.

2024

  • Sixth GGGI annual meeting held in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

  • Membership grows to 149 organizations.

  • Australia joins the GGGI as the 24th member government.

  • GGGI had a participates in INC-4 in Ottawa and INC-5 in Busan, continuing to drive conversations to ensure ALDFG is mentioned and addressed specifically in the text for the “Plastics Treaty”.

  • GGGI launches its revised website.

  • Working with Natural Resources Consultants, GGGI commissions ghost gear predictive models for Atlantic Canada, Rhode Island and Gulf of Maine, U.S.A., British Virgin Islands, and Indonesia.

CELEBRATING a decade OF COLLABORATION

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved as a global alliance, bringing together NGOs, the private sector, academia, the seafood industry and governments to drive change to reduce the impact of ghost gear worldwide. But there’s still much more to be done. Together, we can solve the challenge of lost fishing gear.

Click here to learn more our projects around the world.