Ottawa seeking proposals from groups committed to cleaning up ‘ghost gear’ in water

The federal government has issued a request for proposals from partners committed to cleaning up lost, abandoned and discarded fishing equipment, otherwise known as ghost gear.

Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson made the announcement in Yarmouth, N.S., saying Ottawa has already set aside $15 million for project funding over the next three years.

The lost and discarded equipment can harm marine mammals, fisheries and habitats, Thompson said in a statement released Wednesday.

“Cleaning up this debris will help our fisheries to continue to thrive,” the minister said. “I want to thank our partners and Indigenous communities for their efforts so far to clean up and find solutions to tackle the issue of ghost gear.”

The minister said that since the fund was launched in 2020, more than 2,500 tonnes of ghost gear have been removed from Canada’s waters.

Since 2020, the fund has been used to support 144 projects worth more than $58.4 million.

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The closing date for new proposals is June 29.
In 2021, a scientific study found that ghost gear dumped off the southwestern coast of Nova Scotia — site of Canada’s most lucrative lobster fishery — was trapping species at risk and hurting the lobster industry.

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax determined the abandoned traps, ropes, hooks and other equipment was costing the lobster industry nearly $200,000 annually in lost catches.

The study’s findings were based on what researchers found when five fishing boats were used to haul in more than seven tonnes of gear. Lobster traps made up 66 per cent of the gear pulled to the surface. Other gear included cables, ropes, marker buoys and other marine debris.

The researchers calculated that the traps, often referred to as lobster pots, could be responsible for up to $176,000 in annual commercial losses because many of them continued to catch bottom-feeders long after they were left behind.

2:00 New Dalhousie University study focuses on the alarming number of lost fishing gear at sea