Shetland 2023 - Ghost Gear Project

Aim

Lost Fishing Gear is a serious threat to wildlife in the Shetland Isles and we scuba dive to remove and recycle lost fishing gear.

Ghost Fishing UK are responding to a concerning ghost net problem in the Shetland Isles, Scotland. The issue has been raised by local fishermen who have come across large lost nets, not belonging to them, that are killing lots of wildlife. The charity has a week long project in Shetland to help.

Situation

Ghost nets kill untold numbers of animals each year and add to the ocean plastic pollution problem. Fishermen have reported that they have been recovering huge lost nets in Shetland that are full of unintended catch. The nets are recognised as not being local to the British Isles. Ghost Fishing UK are heading to Shetland for a week long project to help locate and remove as much ghost gear as possible and recycle what they can. They will be working in harmony with the local fishing community.

Solution

The charity has chartered a liveaboard diving boat for 12 divers for 1 week in the summer of 2023. The boat will operate in Shetland and the charity will work with information from divers and the fishing community in Shetland to locate lost fishing gear and recover it, with the aim of recycling everything they can. The charity will collaborate with the local fisheries and projects such as Keep Britain Tidy, Ocean Recovery Project and Fishing for Litter as well as Ocean Plastic Pots.

Community Involvement

The charity is receiving reports of lost fishing gear, reported by the local fishing comunitty and we will endeavour to recover this gear and return it to them.

We are also hosting an evening charity and information event at the Shetland Museum, Lerwick, to engage the local fishing fleets and community volunteers who are invited to asisst on the quayside, sorting and cleaning recovered lost fishing gear.

The evening event will involve talks, updates and progress on the project and we are hosting a Q&A session to allow islanders to ask the charity about their work.

We have also been approached by schools on Shetland to ask if they can get involved in the project and we are planning activities whereby they can help with the recovered gear ready for recycling, meet the divers and learn about the ocean.

This project successfully funded on 1st August 2023