The GGGI has been working with partners—including the Vanuatu Fisheries Department (VFD), Vanuatu Environmental Science Society (VESS) and Natural Resources Consultants (NRC)—since 2017 to increase community uptake of best practices for managing fishing gear in Vanuatu and to gather ALDFG data for the GGGI global data portal. As a continuation of the GGGI’s work in Vanuatu, the project team has built on lessons learned during earlier activities and has expanded engagement with local stakeholders. The project has continued to help raise awareness about ghost gear in Vanuatu while building capacity and generating community buy-in to effectively reduce and prevent gear loss going forward.

In an Australian first, Project ReCon was launched in December 2022 along the Great Barrier Reef to provide communities with a way of contributing to an ALDFG recovery, repair, reuse, and recycling project. Through the GGGI Small Grants Program, Tangaroa Blue will expand their initial trail and extend Project ReCon to enable participation of additional communities along the Great Barrier Reef, the Torres Strait Islands, and the Gulf of Carpentaria.