The Emerald Sea Protection Society (ESPS) small grant project consisted of targeted ghost gear recovery operations off the coast of British Columbia and media outreach to raise awareness of ALDFG. The original plan was to purchase a boom crane to increase the lift potential of the ESPS field vessel to pull ALDFG from the water to the surface. However, the vessel was deemed incompatible with a boom crane after an engineering assessment. For this reason, ESPS used funds allocated to this project to upgrade the ROVs, GPS systems and associated hardware that the society uses to detect and remove ALDFG.

Stichting Ghost Diving is implementing a project dedicated to locating ALDFG in Mediterranean waters using unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) in near-shore coastal environments. Through the course of this project, Stichting Ghost Diving is working with fellow GGGI member Wolf Fish Ltd. to perform aerial surveys using UAVs to gather information about the distribution of ALDFG along specific areas of the Greek coastline. Survey flights in areas of regional interest will return results about the type, location, and density of ALDFG, and about ALDFG impact across large regions of the coast.

The Southern coastal districts of Bangladesh, especially Patuakahli and Cox’s Bazar district, are home to the largest catch of hilsa and shrimp from the Bay of Bengal, with most fishers in the region predominantly artisanal gillnet and seine net fishers. In these fisheries, a significant amount of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) finds its way into the Bay of Bengal each year, with a wide range of environmental and economic impacts.

Two coastal sites, Kuakata of Patuakhali and Najirartak & Doriarnagar of Cox’s Bazar were selected for this study. For the collection of ALDFG, groups of daily and deep-sea fishers as well as a local youth group were formed in each site, consisting of more than 100 people in total. More than 4,000kg of ALDFG and other marine debris were collected from Kuakata and Cox’s Bazar, of which the quantity of ALDFG was 1,620 kg and 1,310 kg, respectively. In addition to ALDFG, plastic bottles, polyethylene bags, sandals, etc. are other common items found during ALDFG collections.

This project is designed to address ALDFG along various fish landing sites around Lake Victoria, Uganda; analyze ALDFG impacts on the health of Lake Victoria fisheries; educate the local community on ALDFG; map ALDFG waste and disposal sites; and recover damaged, old and discarded fishing nets left in and around Lake Victoria or on its islands.

Engaging with local authorities, national agencies, and partners, this project delivered a community-based approach to promote awareness of, recovery of, and research into the origins of ALDFG, from both commercial and recreational sources along the Sussex Coast. The project was the first to research ALDFG from recreational sources, and targeted identified hot spots where ALDFG could be removed, deposited safely, collected and transported for recycling.

With the support of GGGI, Enaleia was able to establish this project in the region of Emilia-Romagna, activating more than 600 fishers to collect 25,000 kgs of ALDFG for the first time in Italy, and facilitating the upcycling and recycling of more than 90% of the collected material. The project has been up and running since the initial small grant support in 2021, and is now replicating in more areas of Italy.

Additionally, Enaleia’s Mediterranean Cleanup project has expanded over the last year to Spain and Egypt, envisioning a Mediterranean Sea without ALDFG, where fishing communities are part of the solution.