Fathoms Free is a group of volunteer divers who protect marine wildlife and the environment for everyone's benefit by removing ALDFG (abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear) and other marine debris from the coastal waters of Cornwall and Devon. ALDFG is also known as ghost gear or ghost fishing gear, as it continues to "fish," entangling, trapping, and killing wildlife indiscriminately. These trapped animals will die and act as bait, attracting more wildlife in a vicious cycle of death until the ghost gear is removed from the environment.
Before we even get in the water, we face around £5,000 in essential running costs every year.
From boat storage, servicing, maintenance and insurance, to equipment and trailer maintenance and public liability insurance, these unseen costs are the foundation of every ghost gear recovery mission we do.
These costs keep our team safe and legal and ready to respond to ghost gear reports at a moment's notice. Without them, the work we do simply can't happen.
We're launching this campaign on World Earth Day because our oceans need urgent care, and we need your help to continue our frontline response.
We're aiming to cover the core costs that make everything else possible.
Your donations will help us protect marine life and underwater ecosystems through safe, effective ghost gear recovery
We want to build a sustainable funding base that supports our work all year round.
By donating, sharing, or sponsoring this campaign, you're helping secure the future of hands-on ocean conservation in the UK.
Support the divers. Save the sea. Untangle the ocean.