Ghost Gear Fund Projects 2022-2023
In 2022, the Ghost Gear Fund was allocated an additional $10 million to fund 46 projects.
Project descriptions
| Name | Area of work | Description | Total funding for 2022-2023 | Pillars of activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA) | Costa Rica | This project implemented a model for the recovery and recycling of ghost gear in a priority area of Costa Rica. Asociación Centroamericana para la Economía, la Salud y el Ambiente (ACEPESA) worked with the National Coast Guard Service and a recycling company IPS, which produces plastic lumber. Project activities included the acquisition and adaptation of specialized equipment to facilitate gear retrieval, the implementation of a recycling plan for the recovered materials, and educational and awareness activities for the fishing sector. This project is complete. | $366,500.00 | International Leadership Retrieval |
| Association des Pêcheurs Professionnels Crabiers Acadiens, Inc. (APPCA) | Gulf of St. Lawrence, NB | Along with its local partners, including other traditional snow crab fishing associations, Indigenous communities, engineers, and scientists, this project improved fisheries resource management and sustainability by effectively retrieving ghost gear using innovative technologies and responsibly disposing of it, lowering the negative effects of ghost gear on the marine ecosystem such as their interactions with the North Atlantic right whales. This project is complete. | $300,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Bluenose Coastal Action Foundation (Coastal Action) | LFA 33, 34, and 35, NS | Coastal Action’s ghost gear project expanded the organization’s previous work (2020-2022) in scope and effort by collaborating with partners to retrieve abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) from at-sea and shoreline environments across Nova Scotia. This was accomplished through fishing industry collaboration, testing retrieval equipment, capacity building, and knowledge sharing, promoting responsible end-of-life opportunities, and exploring recycling options for rope in Atlantic Canada. Activities included retrieving ALDFG from priority areas and hot spots, as well as developing ongoing education and communication campaigns for the fishing industry and the public. This project is complete. | $397,380.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association (CBFHA) | Cape Breton, NS | The Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association (CBFHA) worked with local fish harvesters from Lobster Fishing Area 27 to identify, locate, and retrieve ghost gear, conducting retrieval trips in 2022. Trip locations were determined by the information provided by the harvesters and are usually historical areas of concern or are areas reported as recently lost fishing gear. The project is complete. | $100,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Centre de recherche sur les milieux insulaires et maritimes (CERMIM) | Magdalen Islands, QC | The Centre de recherche sur les milieux insulaires et Maritimes (CERMIM), in partnership with Pêcheries F.J.L Inc. and Seamor Marine Ltd., conducted a ghost gear recovery project with a remotely operated underwater robot to locate and recover fishing gear at depths varying between 75 and 100 meters. The CERMIM dismantled the ghost gear at its laboratory for future research projects on ghost gear recovery. This project is complete. | $500,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Clean Harbours Initiative & Ghost Net Removal | St. Croix Bay, NL | Clean Harbours Initiative, with support from International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Canada, removed and responsibly disposed of ghost gear from the coastline of St. Croix Bay, near Long Harbour, Newfoundland. St. Croix Bay is a collector bay for marine debris, and in 2021 significant concentrations of ghost gear and fishing-related marine plastic debris were identified in this area. This project is complete. | $225,500.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Coastal Restoration Society (CRS) | Salish Sea, Clayoquot Sound, and Alberni Inlet, BC | Coastal Restoration Society targeted the removal ghost gear within First Nations territorial waters. Priority sites identified in Clayoquot Sound, Alberni Inlet, and the Southern Salish Sea during Phase 1 were the primary sites of removal operations. Additional survey work guided by First Nations partners prioritized sites of high cultural, food, social, and ceremonial importance. Through CRS-developed training and apprenticeship pathways, this project delivered capacity-building opportunities to partner First Nations in the areas of ALDFG surveying and retrieval, environmental monitoring, remote sensing, remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and drone operation. This project is complete. *Coastal Restoration Society was funded up to $690,000.00 (2022-2023) to carry out work in three locations; Salish Sea, Clayoquot Sound, and Alberni Inlet, BC. |
$690,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Comité ZIP Côte-Nord du Golfe | Sept-Îles, QC | This project involved the identification and recovery of lost fishing gear off Mingan's coastal waters, removing these disturbances from marine habitats. Retrieval was completed using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) between the Mingan Archipelago and the Western Tip of Anticosti Island. This project implemented an action plan that leads to the creation of a round table or a working committee on the recovery and disposal of ghost gear on the North Shore. This project is complete. | $200,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Comité ZIP des Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Magdalen Islands, QC | This project located, using a geolocation underwater camera, and recovered ghost gear in areas of high ecological value located on the lobster fishing grounds of the Magdalen Islands. With the participation of local fish harvesters, areas associated with a high rate of trap losses were identified in order to focus recovery efforts. This project is complete. | $188,645.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Coopérative des Capitaines Propriétaires de la Gaspésie (ACPG) | Crab Fishing Area 12 | This project contributed to the recovery of lost ghost gear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Crab Fishing Area 12 and Groundfish Stock Area 4RST. A wheeled grapple system was used to recover ghost gear, minimizing impacts on the seabed. This project is complete. | $400,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) | East Asian Countries | The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) guided concerted action on ghost gear in the East Asian Seas. COBSEA brought together partners Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Reef World Foundation, and National Focal Agencies of COBSEA, to harmonize gear marking and demonstrate good practices to encourage national frameworks. In line with the COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, this project prevented and reduced marine litter from ghost gear. Additionally, it mitigated impacts on the environment and coastal communities by demonstrating best practices for replication and awareness raising, supporting successful pilots, and promoting harmonization of gear marking at the regional level. This project is complete. | $300,000.00 | International Leadership Retrieval |
| CSR GeoSurveys Ltd. | Bay of Fundy, NS | This project located and recovered lost lobster fishing equipment in the Maritimes Region (LFA 32-33 and LFA 36-37). Field operations included surveying and retrieving legacy gill nets and lobster fishing equipment on “The Wolves Bank” in LFA 37 to support efforts to protect herring spawning grounds. This project is complete. | $900,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| CSR GeoSurveys Ltd. | Gulf of St. Lawrence, NB | This project located and recovered lost crab fishing equipment in the Gulf region (CFA 12). This project focused on removing ghost gear from sensitive whale habitat areas to support efforts to protect marine mammals in Canadian waters, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale. This project is complete. | $575,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Emerald Sea Protection Society | Queen Charlotte Strait, BC | This project focused on the identification, removal, and disposal of ghost gear from the coastal waters of British Columbia. Commercially qualified divers surveyed and recovered ghost gear using specialized equipment and local knowledge. This project included a preliminary environmental impact survey to ensure that gear is recovered in a manner that avoids negative habitat impact. It also involved utilizing expanded capacity to survey the BC coast more effectively for ghost gear and lead recovery initiatives to remediate priority sites. This project is complete. | $103,810.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| EnviroCulture Consulting Inc | Nova Scotia | This project focused on the development of a cost-effective long-term industrial scale solution to recycle the large quantities of end-of-life fishing rope and net generated each year in Atlantic Canada. The majority of this material is rope, which is a blend of polypropylene and polyethylene, the two best plastic resins for conversion to synthetic fuel in Sustane Technologies plastics to diesel plant. EnviroCulture Consulting partnered with Sustane Technologies identifying and evaluating equipment to efficiently shred rope and nets annually, as well as to then convert the shredded rope fines into an acceptable feedstock. Sustane provided technical and engineering expertise, as well as capital and operating expense analysis. This project is complete. | $195,000.00 | Disposal |
| Environmental Justice Foundation | Thailand and Indonesia | The Environmental Justice Foundation's Net Free Seas (NFS) project was launched in Thailand in 2020 to empower artisanal fishing communities to protect the oceans from ghost gear. The project facilitated the collection, cleaning, and recycling of abandoned fishing nets into lifestyle projects and components for various industrial applications. The NFS project was extended to Ghana in 2021 and tested in Indonesia in 2022. With the Ghost Gear Fund, the NFS project improved and expanded its work in Thailand and Indonesia by organizing action-focused workshops that brought together fishing organizations and experts from Southeast Asia to identify regional solutions to combat ghost gear. This project is complete. *Environmental Justice Foundation was funded up to CAN$77,600.00 to carry out work in two locations; Thailand and Indonesia. |
$77,600.00 | International Leadership Disposal |
| Fish on the Bay | Great Slave Lake, NWT | Situated in the Northwest Territories, just below the Arctic Circle, Great Slave Lake has been the home of intense commercial fishing since the late 1970s. As such, ghost gear can still be found on the shores of the most fished areas and around its capital, Yellowknife. This project identified three heavily traveled locations and focused on the retrieval of ghost gear, returning the locations to their original state. This project is complete. | $12,483.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-UNIFOR) | NAFO division 2J, NL | The Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) Ghost Gear Retrieval Project relied on the knowledge and expertise of its membership in gear retrieval operations, as well as FFAW's own experience in retrieving gear in 2020-2022. Focusing on the southern 2J region of Labrador, priority retrieval areas were based on the previous experience. These priority areas included key historical and current cod fishing grounds, and gear removal activities here have contributed to the sustainability of the Northern cod stock and the fishery as a whole. Retrieval occurred using a combination of underwater camera and grapnel. This project also summarized existing gear disposal options in southern Labrador and built a database of potential disposal options. This project is complete. | $191,743.77 | Retrieval Technology |
| Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University (Marine Institute) | Newfoundland and Labrador | This project assisted in the reduction of lost fishing gear within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Project objectives included to testing the technology and promoting awareness amongst industry of accessible innovative technologies and practices to help reduce the presence of ghost gear. This project involved collaboration with Resqunit, a private Canadian industry supplier of innovative Ghost Gear technology. This innovative technology can be used to help eliminate lost gear by identifying it even before it become lost. This project is complete. | $100,000.00 | Technology |
| Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canda (FGCAC) | Atlantic Canada | Since November 2018, the Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada (FGCAC) has been working to develop sustainable solutions for end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear and other associated plastic waste materials in Atlantic Canada. FGCAC learned that there is a need for fishing gear waste management in all Atlantic provinces. Based on those learnings the FGCAC designed a collection and recycling program for end-of-life fishing gear. This Feasibility Study Project confirmed and provided a financially self-sufficient waste management program for the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries. This project helped minimize the environmental damage caused by improper disposal while assessing environmental, economic, and social impacts for a permanent solution and encouraging local end markets, entrepreneurship, and local job creation. This project is now complete. *Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada has been funded up to $230,000.00 to carry out work in three locations; Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. |
$230,000.00 | Disposal |
| Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society | Fraser River, BC | The Lower Fraser River Ghost Gear Removal Initiative was collaborative initiative that removed ghost gear from the Fraser River between the lower Fraser River and Yale, BC. This project focused on working with Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society volunteers, First Nation fishers, anglers, and others. A key element of this project was removal teams collaborating in real-time, on the water, and sharing information, knowledge, and experience. This unique approach of bringing together a crew from across these communities built relationships, encouraged information and knowledge exchange, and fostered a greater understanding of conservation issues on the Fraser River. This project is complete. | $132,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Fundy North Fishermen’s Association | LFAs 36 and 37 | This project further expanded the capacity, opportunity, and access to recycle and repurpose fishing gear, specifically rope and lobster traps, from Region 4 of New Brunswick and LFA 36. This project provided tools to further support ghost gear retrieval efforts which included cleanup initiatives targeting derelict aquaculture nets in key fishing areas, expanding community capacity for addressing derelict gear, and expanding ties to recyclers within and outside of NB. This project directly addressed responsible disposal for lobster traps and rope, creating a positive impact on the environment by retrieving ghost gear and cleaning abandoned aquaculture nets, as well as explore opportunities to further expand repurposing efforts through supporting community-led trap and gear pick-up programs. This project is complete. | $414,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Great Pacific Ocean | Barkley Sound, BC | This project involved the retrieval and disposal of ghost gear from the west coast of Vancouver Island. The team, of experienced scientific commercial divers, conducted salvage dives throughout Barkley Sound to quantify and remove derelict fishing gear from the area, protecting and preserving local marine ecosystems and resources. This project is complete. | $107,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Gros Morne Healthy Oceans Inc. | Southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador | Atlantic Healthy Oceans Initiative (AHOI) and its partner, Tour Gros Morne (TGM) collected, audited and mapped ghost gear in the coastal and inshore fishing areas of southwestern Newfoundland, hit by Hurricane Fiona. Salvageable gear was returned to fishers. AHOI worked with municipalities, artisans and businesses to upcycle, recycle or reuse as much of the remaining material as possible. AHOI mapped and researched collected gear and identified ways that coastal communities and fish harvesters can prevent lost gear in future events. The project is complete. | $75,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute | Caribbean Sea | This project provided capacity building and knowledge/technology transfer to the artisanal fishing community and other marine resource users whilst helping to inform practical solutions to ghost gear and provide data on the type and prevalence of ghost gear in the Caribbean. This was achieved through a cross-sector workshop, supporting fishers in their efforts to reduce ghost gear, additional analysis of ghost gear hotspots, expanding surveys of unoccupied aerial vehicle and artificial intelligence algorithms, and piloting innovative fishing gear and gear-marking techniques to prevent gear loss and facilitate recovery. A fisher-led community education program was expanded to help raise awareness on best practices for ghost gear prevention, reduction, and retrieval. This project is complete. | $175,000.00 | International Leadership Technology |
| Homarus Inc. | LFA 25 | This project involved detecting and identifying ghost gear with no bottom seafloor disturbance in Lobster Fishing Area 25 (LFA 25) by using sonar, subsea positioning, and underwater visuals. LFA 25 was highly impacted by Hurricane Fiona. This project is complete. | $330,660.50 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance | Fraser River estuary, BC | The Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance (LFFA) and Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) collaborated on a First Nations driven abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) survey and retrieval program within the Lower Fraser River. The project surveyed, recovered, and responsibly recycled and disposed of ALDFG from the mouth of the Lower Fraser River. This project built on existing knowledge and experience with removing ALDFG from the Fraser River and focused on new locations and gear types. This project is complete. | $103,500.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Malahat Nation | Salish Sea, BC | The Malahat Nation Ghost Gear Initiative mitigated the ecological impacts of derelict fishing gear in the Salish Sea and provided knowledge to local Indigenous and fishing communities. This project focused on refining methods for gear surveys and retrieval, with efforts focused on the deep waters of Malahat traditional marine territory. This project is complete. *Malahat received a lump sum of $336,750.00 for three years (2021-2024). |
$336,750.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Marine Thinking Inc. | Eastern Nova Scotia | The Fishing Gear Tracking, Monitoring, and Retrieval Assistance System: Phase 2 is a modern approach to ghost gear reduction that aimed to target and prevent the loss of fishing gear at the source. The system identified, located, scanned, and retrieved lost lobster traps, as well as conducted data analysis for lobster trap loss. In partnership with Sma’knis Maritime Safety & Security Inc. this project utilized a modified autonomous survey vessel for the detection of fishing gears determined to be lost by the system. This project is complete. | $250,000.00 | Technology |
| Maritime Fishermen's Union | Gulf of St. Lawrence, NB | This project retrieved and collected fishing gear, ensuring to document the type and location to improve knowledge on the impact of ghost gear on the marine ecosystem. In partnership with Seaforth Geosurveys, this project mapped areas and identified ghost gear hot spots. The Maritime Fishermen's Union reduced and assessed impacts of ghost gear in Nova Scotia, Lobster Fishing Areas 26 and 27. Secured storage areas were used for gear that can be identified, and unidentifiable gear and other debris were responsibly disposed of at local waste management facilities and/or recycled as these opportunities became available. This project is complete. | $320,459.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Merinov | Magdalen Islands, QC and Nova Scotia | The goal of the project was to search for and recover lost aquaculture gear or components in two selected areas, in the Magdalen Islands and Nova Scotia. Unidentified or end-of-life gear was reused in various projects in collaboration with the Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada (FGCAC). This project is complete. *Merinov was funded up to $425,000.00 to carry out work in two locations: Magdalen Islands and Nova Scotia. |
$425,000.00 | Disposal |
| Natural Resources Consultants | Gulf of St. Lawrence, NB and Pacific Coast, BC | Natural Resources Consultants executed a specialty lost fishing gear diver retrieval training on the East Coast in partnership with Cojo Diving, Titan Maritime, and Relyon Nutec. They continued their partnership with DiveSafe International to provide training for certified divers in British Columbia. This project is complete. * Natural Resources Consultants received $75,000 (2022-2023) which was divided between two locations: Pacific Coast, BC and Gulf of St. Lawrence, NB. |
$75,000.00 | Retrieval |
| Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association | Newfoundland and Labrador | This Project partnered with Real-Time Ocean Data Services Ltd. and Sweeney International Marine Corp. to remove ghost gear from the areas surrounding decommissioned mussel aquaculture sites, which ceased operations in the 1990s. Materials gathered were reused and sent for responsible disposal. Project advisory partners included Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, Norlantic Processors and the NL Department of Fisheries Forestry and Agriculture. This project is complete. | $300,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| North Shore Mi’kmaq District Council | Eel Ground, NB | The Anqotum staff were trained as Advanced Open Water Divers and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operators to conduct ghost gear activities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Partnerships with COJO Diving Inc. and harvesters from Esgenoopetitj and Natoaganeg First Nations allowed for the survey of Lobster Fishing Areas 23 and 25. The team learned best practices on ghost gear retrieval. This new initiative allowed Anqotum to engage more Indigenous harvesters for future collaborative ghost gear projects. This project is complete. | $200,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) | NAFO division 2J, NL | The NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) retrieved ghost gear from land base sources (i.e., nets washed ashore, abandoned stages and wharves, and other fishing gear holding facilities) along coastal NuantuKavut within NAFO division 2J. This project reduced fishing mortality of marine species from ghost gear by-catch by retrieving discarded gear along shorelines and preventing gear from entering the marine system. Information gathered from residents and local fish harvesters helped identify ghost gear targets and guide retrievals. This project is complete. | $125,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Ocean Conservancy | Vanuatu and Solomon Islands | The Global Ghost Gear Initiative®, based at Ocean Conservancy, has been collaborating with partners in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands since 2017 to identify and implement sustainable strategies for preventing and recovering lost fishing gear in the region. As a continuation to the project supported by the 2020-2022 Ghost Gear Fund, this body of work scaled up testing of new gear-tracking technologies and expanded an innovative buy-back scheme for end-of-life gear in Vanuatu, while continuing to strengthen local capacity for gear management best practices. This project is complete. | $100,000.00 | International Leadership Retrieval |
| Petty Harbour Fishermen’s Producer Co-operative Society | Petty Harbour, NL | Working off the coast of the Eastern Avalon Peninsula, the Petty Harbour Fishermen’s Producer Cooperative completed two years of ghost gear recovery operations. Using fisheries activity data, reported lost gear coordinates, and local fishers' knowledge, the team employed a fleet of vessels incorporating a single grapnel recovery approach to remove ghost gear from the seabed. This project involved piloting camera technology paired with a recovery grapnel, to document the methodology and further develop best practices for this ghost gear recovery approach. This project is complete. | $367,555.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association Ltd. | Gulf of St. Lawrence, PE | This project performed both a pre-season retrieval and a post-season retrieval, the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association implemented both preventative measures and responsive measures to actively reduce the risks of ghost gear. This project entailed a two-part gear spotting survey, retrieval, underwater remote operating vehicle (ROV) and grappling component. This project is complete. | $350,073.60 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Qikiqtaaluk Corporation | NAFO Division 0B, Foxe Basin, Belcher Islands, Nunavut | This project involved the purchase, integration, training, and piloting of a Canadian high-resolution mapping technology by Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, the Inuit Birthright Organization for Nunavut’s Qikiqtani region, for the utilization of ghost gear detection and other mapping/bottom classification activities. Kraken Robotic Systems Inc. integrated its latest-generation Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (MINSAS) technology, which operates in water depths up to 1,000 m, onto an existing autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Acquisition and piloting of currently available innovative gear technology provided Qikiqtaaluk Corporation with a leading edge technology for detection of ghost gear in offshore and inshore Arctic waters off of its dedicated inshore research vessel. This project is complete. * Qikiqtaaluk Corporation was funded up to $634,000.00 to carry out work in three locations; NAFO Divisions 0B, Foxe Basin Nunavut, and Belcher Islands Nunavut. |
$634,000.00 | Technology |
| Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du sud de la Gaspésie (RPPSG) | Gaspésie, QC | Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du sud de la Gaspésie undertook eliminating and recycling ghost gear. Additionally, protecting and preserving the environment, this initiative raised awareness among fishermen of the importance of integrating the recovery of end-of-life traps into their seasonal activities. This project is complete. | $53,709.19 | Disposal |
| Richmond County Inshore Fishermen's Association | St. Peter's Bay, NS | This project was to detect and retrieve ghost gear in St. Peter's Bay, NS. Gear was reused or recycled. This project is complete. | $38,300.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| Rugged Coast Research Society | Kyuquot Sound and Hesquiaht Harbour BC | In partnership with the Hesquiaht and Kyuquot/Cheklesahht First Nation communities, this project located and removed subtidal ghost gear from their traditional territories. Rugged Coast Research Society acquired and employed a marine remotely operated vehicle to locate ghost gear and to survey priority areas within Hesquiaht harbour and Kyuquot sound. Following the survey work, a skilled team was employed to retrieve and transport prioritized ghost gear for disposal and recycling. This project is complete. * Rugged Coast Research Society was funded up to $198,233.00 to carry out work in two locations; Kyuquot Sound and Hesquiaht Harbour, BC |
$198,233.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Scotian Shores Shoreline Clean Up & Debris Removal | Bay of Fundy, NS | Scotian Shores Shoreline Cleanup conducted land-based shoreline cleanups retrieving ghost gear consisting of lobster traps, rope, other fishing processing industry plastics. Retrieval activities were based in the Bay of Fundy, Digby Neck, and Southwest Nova Scotia. The project collaborated with current seafood harvesters, Harbour Authorities and others involved in the fishing industry. This project is complete. | $75,000.00 | Retrieval Disposal |
| The Ocean Legacy Foundation | Steveston, BC | The Ocean Legacy Foundation (OLF) continued the development of a program to support community partners who are retrieving ghost gear, as well as create a methodology for long-term stewardship of these plastic materials with a transportation and recycling program for responsible disposal. The OLF built critical capacity to expand existing networks and develop two more formal material collection points, which can adequately contain and manage ghost gear collected from the shoreline, ocean, and marine industrial cleanup. This included creating an industry-based collection program that engages the fishery and aquaculture sector into a financial model for long-term financial sustainability in managing marine equipment at its end-of-life. This project is complete. | $826,767.00 | Disposal Technology |
| Titan Maritime Ltd. | LFA 25 | This project focused on retrieval of ghost gear in Lobster Fishing Area 25 using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in areas of high concentration of gear that was lost during Hurricane Fiona in September 2022. This project is complete. | $175,000.00 | Retrieval Technology |
| Torngat Joint Fisheries Board (TJFB) | NAFO Divisions 2GH, NL | This project had two components, developing initiatives to reduce ghost gear, focusing on policy, stewardship, and education in Nunatsiavut, and retrieve lost gear in known areas, as well as clean up lost gear in the coastal tidal zone/shoreline. The Labrador Inuit have an important relationship with the fish, wildlife, and plants around them. This relationship is at the core of the Torngat Joint Fisheries Board's strategy for stewardship and education. The work of stewardship involved strengthening community values and feelings of responsibility at both the individual and community levels. This project is complete. | $137,137.00 | Retrieval Technology |
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