Marulho, a social business based in Brazil, is leading the charge in the country against ghost gear while empowering coastal communities. Through education, creative reuse, and community storytelling, Marulho is turning marine waste into opportunity. They are protecting the ocean while strengthening coastal livelihoods. In 2025, funding from the GGGI small grants program helped to support Marulho’s collection of more than 18 tons of end-of-life fishing nets, which were repurposed into more than 13,000 products that could be sold to generate income for community members.  In addition to directly involving community members in environmental education, beach cleanups, and educational workshops, this work directly supported income generation activities for 27 families.

Hawaii, being the most remote island chain in the world and being very close to the North Pacific Gyre, is a hotspot for marine debris of all kinds, most notably ALDFG. This project, led by Surfrider Foundation Kauai, aimed specifically to address the challenges of eel trap entrances (ETEs) and their potential to ensnare wildlife such as Hawaiian monk seal pups and other marine animals. Eel traps, typically used in Asia but also in other places around the Pacific Rim, can float for thousands of kilometers on ocean currents, and many of them end up in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Over the last five years, the Ocean Legacy Foundation has successfully established seven Ocean Plastic Depots (OPDs) across British Columbia, Canada, and has developed a Plastic Pollution Emergency Response Facility in Steveston, British Columbia. This endeavor represents one of the largest marine debris collection and recycling networks in the country and engages a variety of regional and local community partners, marine industry stakeholders, as well as local Indigenous groups. This project is building on the ongoing work of Ocean Legacy in the development of a provincial strategy around the responsible recycling and end-of-life management of marine debris and ALDFG materials.