Removal of lost fishing gear (ghost nets) from the Baltic Sea

Every year approx. 640,000 tons of fishing material are lost at sea worldwide. In the past the Baltic Sea has been seen a lot of fishing activity, therefore many nets were lost at sea or abandoned and now remain a deadly threat to marine life at the sea floor. The nets efficiently catch fish and other marine life, which eventually starve or drown. The nets also deteriorate to release microplastic particles.

The project aims at removing these nets and recycling or upcycling the material. Some will be given to BRACENET company for upcycling into different products; BRACENET then donates part of the revenue back to Ghost Diving Germany for additional ghost net clean-ups. Net parts made of polyurethane are recycled into Econyl yarn, whilst other nets are transformed to energy.

Project activities and effects

Project Goal:

• To set up a minimum 9 dive trips in 2022-2024 in the Baltic Sea to recover a minimum of 9.000 kg of nets.

  Cooperation between Ghost Diving Germany and WWF Germany to identify points of interest for future large ghost net operations.

Activities:

Three ghost net removal operations per area over the course of three years. The targeted areas include:

• West Pomeranian Coast and Bay of Pomerania.
• Bay of Kiel and Little Belt.
• Bay of Mecklenburg and Arkona Basin.

Impressions: