Volunteers are tackling challenging sea conditions to remove hazardous fishing nets abandoned overboard and causing massive environmental damage.
Ghost Fishing UK recently took on the task around a wreck of a steam drifter called the Vale of Leven that sank off the coast of the English coastal city of Brighton in 1917.
The silty shipwreck near an offshore wind farm had become entangled with large sections of fishing trawler nets.
Ghost fishing gear refers to any fishing equipment that has been abandoned, lost or discarded in the ocean. This includes nets, lines, ropes, traps, pots, and other gear used in commercial and recreational fishing.
This gear can become lost or discarded due to storms, snagging on underwater obstacles, wear and tear, and in some cases, intentional disposal.
Once in the ocean, this gear continues to pose a threat, entangling and trapping marine life, leading to injury, starvation and death affecting a wide range of species, including fish, seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles.
Ghost fishing gear can also damage habitats, such as coral reefs, pose a hazard to navigation and is a significant contributor to marine debris and plastic pollution.
A 2016 United Nations report estimates that each fishing vessel loses approximately one per cent of its gear annually, resulting in a staggering 4.4km of ghost nets for every square kilometre of fishing ground.
Ghost Fishing UK, founded in 2015 by Dr Richard Walker, is a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to removing this harmful debris.
Inspired by Walker’s experience with the now-defunct Ghost Fishing Foundation in the Netherlands, the organisation tackles approximately 10 projects per year.
In 2022 alone, they recovered 1,800kg of nets and 35 pots.
The Brighton operation, led by experienced diver and Ghost Fishing UK operations officer Fred Nunn, saw volunteers using specialised dive knives to cut free the entangled nets.
Mr Nunn, who has completed 300 dives for the cause, emphasised the richness of marine life at the wreck, noting that the divers encountered numerous fish, including a ‘grumpy conger eel.’
The divers meticulously sorted through the recovered nets, returning any live creatures, such as crabs, sponges, scallops and brill, back to the sea.
The volunteer divers, including a dive engineer, a space systems engineer and an oceanography doctoral student, expressed their motivations for participating in these challenging dives.
They cited the satisfaction of freeing trapped animals, the purposeful nature of the work and the opportunity to raise awareness about the issue of ghost fishing gear.
They also highlighted the charity’s collaborative approach, emphasising their partnership with small-scale anglers rather than viewing them as adversaries.
Ghost Fishing UK actively works with local fishermen, receiving tips about lost nets and returning any usable gear they recover. They also operate a reporting system on their website for both fishermen and divers to report lost or discarded gear.
The recovered nets are recycled through the Ocean Recovery Project, an offshoot of Keep Britain Tidy, and transformed into products like footwear, furniture and insulation.
Some volunteers even wear bracelets made from recycled nets recovered from specific wrecks.
Blue Ventures senior advocacy manager Tom Collinson praised the volunteers, highlighting their role in addressing ghost fishing gear.
He cautioned that these efforts continue to be dwarfed by industrial bottom trawling, which he likened to ‘using a bulldozer and a vacuum cleaner on the ocean floor’.
The method is banned in Bahrain waters for this very reason.
Mr Nunn added: “I remain committed to retrieving ghost fishing gear and supporting the growing community of divers dedicated to protecting marine ecosystems.”
Ghost Fishing UK currently has a waiting list of approximately 300 volunteers, demonstrating the growing interest in marine conservation within the diving community. The organisation relies on private donations and support from organisations like the Sussex Wildlife Trust, World Animal Protection, and the Sea Life Trust. Individuals can contribute to their efforts by donating and reporting ghost gear through the website.
Earlier this year, GDN Media reported that tough measures are underway to tackle violations that could damage the marine ecosystem in Bahrain and lead to depletion of the country’s fish stocks.
Oil and Environment Minister Dr Mohammed Bin Daina recently highlighted practices such as overfishing, the use of illegal tools and the capture of juvenile fish, will be met with legal action.
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