Baltic Sea Ghost Nets

Summary

The project aimed at removing ghost nets from the Baltic Sea and recycling or upcycling the material. Ghost nets – also known as “derelict fishing gear” – are fishing nets that have been accidentally lost or deliberately disposed of. Ghost nets float through the sea and eventually get tangled up with objects like shipwrecks or reefs. The nets efficiently catch fish and other marine organisms, which eventually starve or drown. Being usually made of plastic, they also deteriorate into microplastic over time, which has a negative impact on its own.

Our partners from Ghost Diving Germany e.V. conducted a total of 11 diving trips to salvage ghost gear and other litter. In a trilateral cooperation between BaltCF, GDG and Hamburg-based company Bracenet, part of the salvaged nets were upcycled into products like bracelets or keychains, and part of the revenue was donated back to the project for additional salvage missions. Also, Points of Interest (POI) where a WWF project had discovered potentially large ghost nets were investigated to verify or discard the initial observations.