GGGI 2025 Small Grants Recipients
Image credit: Wolf Fish Ltd. / Aerial Recon and Recovery Initiative (ARRI)
The GGGI 2025 Small Grants Recipients have been selected! This year's application cycle was our most competitive yet with nearly $1,200,000 USD requested by members from 21 countries. We are grateful to all our small grants applicants; not only is your work incredibly vital in our global effort to combat ALDFG, but reading about your projects continually improves our understanding of the needs of our GGGI members. We are continually inspired by your efforts to improve the health of our ocean.
Additionally, the 2025 Joanna Toole Solutions Award recipients have also been announced. The Joanna Toole Ghost Gear Solutions Award was created and first announced on World Oceans Day in 2019 to honor the tragic passing of GGGI co-founder, United Nations worker, and former World Animal Protection campaigner, Joanna (Jo) Toole, 36, whose life was tragically taken in the Ethiopian airlines crash in March 2019. In honor of Joanna’s legacy, the Joanna Toole Ghost Gear Solutions Award has been awarded annually since 2019 to ghost gear projects that focus on positive animal impacts and female leadership in the ghost gear space. This year, with generous funding from the Joanna Toole Foundation and the Government of Norway, we are funding two projects: a joint submission by The Tunisian Taxonomy Association (AUTAX) and the University of Sfax, and a project by Instituto Ecomar (Maruhlo).
Below, you'll find the projects selected with input from our GGGI staff and Expert Advisory Council. Congratulations to all our successful applicants!
Joanna Toole Ghost Gear Solutions Awards
Tunisian Taxonomy Association (AUTAX) and the University of Sfax
ECO-Gear: Empowering Communities and Optimizing the Code of Conduct for Ghost Gear Management in the Gulf of Gabès
In partnership with the University of Sfax, AUTAX’s female-led project is tackling ghost gear in Tunisia’s Gulf of Gabès–a critical sea turtle biodiversity hotspot. By implementing the Tunisian Code of Conduct for Sustainable Fishers, the project aims to reduce abandoned fishing gear through workshops with 200 fishers, conduct five underwater gear retrieval missions, and pilot biodegradable fishing traps. A recycling hub will also be established for retrieved fishing gear to repurpose into value-added products. Through these efforts, the project works to protect marine ecosystems while empowering local communities, especially women and children, to lead in sustainable fishing practices.
Instituto Ecomar - Marulho
Breaking the Ghost Fishing Cycle in a Small Island in Brazil
Maraulho, a social business based in Brazil, is leading the charge against ghost gear while empowering coastal communities through creativity and sustainability. Since 2021, it has repurposed over eight tons of discarded fishing nets into 30,000+ sustainable products, crafted and sold by local fishers and artisans across the country. This project will scale its impact by hiring a dedicated manager, expanding into four more communities, and leading underwater cleanups with local divers to remove ghost gear from critical areas. Through education, creative reuse, and community storytelling, Marulho is turning marine waste into opportunity–protecting the ocean while strengthening coastal livelihoods.
2025 GGGI Small Grant Awardees
Blue Victoria
Integrated Ghost Gear Cleanup and Sustainable Fishing Education in Lake Victoria - Tanzania
Focused on the waters of Lake Victoria, this project aims to improve the ecological health of Key Biodiversity Areas by tackling ghost gear pollution and promoting sustainable fishing. In collaboration with local Beach Management Units and the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Blue Victoria will establish a working group among all stakeholders to develop a coordinated approach to manage future cleanup and prevention efforts. Through multilingual community workshops and radio programs, the project will raise awareness about the environmental and economic impacts of ghost gear.
Wolf Fish
Cleaning Cambodia’s Seas: A Capacity Building and Community-Based ALDFG Removal Project
Wolf Fish, in collaboration with Khmer Ocean Life (KOL), is leading a community-based effort to tackle ghost gear in Cambodia’s Koh Rong Archipelago. Aerial surveys of ALDFG hotspots and underwater cleanups–conducted with local fishers and dive centers–will identify and remove abandoned fishing gear from key areas. To build local capacity, Cambodian conservationists will receive aerial mapping training, while fishers participate in workshops on sustainable practices. An “ALDFG Guardians” group will also be formed to prevent future gear loss and promote long-term stewardship of the marine environment.
