Feds Spending $8.3 Million To Clean Up Ghost Gear

The Government of Canada has announced they’ll be spending $8.3 million to address ghost gear in the country’s waters.

Lost and abandoned fishing gear, or ‘ghost gear,’ is one of the largest causes of marine litter around the world. It threatens marine animals like whales and turtles, the coastal and marine environment, and global fishing stocks and is one of the deadliest forms of plastic debris. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is funding 26 projects in Canada and around the world to help rid the oceans of this destructive litter.

The $8.3 million Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program, known as the Ghost Gear Fund will support 22 projects in Canada and four internationally over the next two years. All projects fall into at least one of four categories: gear retrieval, responsible disposal, acquisition and piloting of available gear technology, and international leadership.

Each year, more than 8 million metric tons of plastic wind up in the world’s oceans.

In July 2019, DFO and the Canadian Coast Guard conducted a 3-day ghost gear retrieval operation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Over 100 snow crab traps and more than nine kilometres of rope were removed from the water over a three day period.

In a statement, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan says, “Fighting plastic pollution a priority for our government. We can’t have a health ocean or a strong blue economy if our waters are severely polluted by plastic.  The overwhelming interest in the Ghost Gear Fund demonstrates that Canadians share this priority and want to be a part of the solution. The recipients of the fund will make a significant difference domestically, and internationally, as they remove ghost fishing gear from the oceans, recycle or dispose of it responsibly. Most importantly, they are creating tangible solutions to help prevent more plastic from entering our waters in the future.”

Five organizations will benefit from the funding in Nova Scotia:

• Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association
• Coastal Action
• CSR GeoSurveys Ltd.
• Eastern Nova Scotia Marine Stewardship Society
• Fishing Gear Coalition of Atlantic Canada

The work to increase marine protections from coast to coast to coast also includes working to rid the oceans of harmful waste.

The government of Canada has set the target of protecting 25 percent of the country’s oceans by 2025, working toward 30 percent by 2030.

Reported by Ed Halverson from news release
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson