Project targets ghost fishing gear
MAHONE BAY — A major project to tackle ghost fishing gear has been launched.
The implementation of waste management systems for responsible disposal of end-of-life gear, conducting an impact assessment while retrieving ghost fishing gear from targeted areas and ongoing communication campaigns are among the objectives of the just launched collaborative project being led by Coastal Action, Mahone Bay.
Tackling Ghost Gear: Collaborative Remediation of Abandoned, Lost, and Discarded Fishing Gear in Southwest Nova Scotia is a $432,000 project being funded through the federal government's Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program. The project is scheduled to run from July 2020 to March 2022.
“This is the first really indepth action-oriented project where we are trying to address the barriers that are known,” said Alexa Goodman, project co-ordinator. “If successful, perhaps the retrieval process can be ongoing, perhaps more rope disposal bins can be set up. This project is the first go at something different.”
The project will work collaboratively with industry, academia and government to prevent, reduce and assess impacts of abandoned or lost fishing gear in lobster fishing areas 33 and 34 on the South Shore and Southwestern Nova Scotia and in area 35 in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia side.
Project partners include the Clean Annapolis River Project, Coldwater Lobster Association, Brazil Rock Lobster Association and Dalhousie University, among others.
Equipping 10 harbours in the three lobster fishing areas with rope disposal bins, conducting 159 gear retrieval days in the three areas using grapples created by Clare Machine Works, diverting approximately 2,000 lobster traps and 22 tonnes of rope from high-impact disposal methods, engaging approximately 40 partners, and applying new technologies to help manage the abandoned gear, such as Sustane Technologies Inc. of Chester which will be recycling collected rope into diesel fuel, are among the goals and objectives of the project.
Innovative mapping technologies will be used in partnership with Dalhousie's oceanography department and the Ocean Tracking Network to improve the retrieval process by using side-scan sonar technology to clearly identify where lost gear resides on the seafloor.
Goodman said it hasn't been determined which 10 harbours will have rope collection bins.
“The project is set up to work collaboratively with fishing organizations and small craft harbour authorities so there's a whole process in place to determine which harbours to select.”
Gear retrieval will be conducted over the course of the project, with two vessels participating in lobster fishing areas 33 and 35, and three in area 34 for a total of seven, said Goodman.
“Fishers will be doing the retrieval in partnership with the Ocean Tracking Network, Dalhousie University and the Clean Annapolis River Project,” said Goodman. “We will be using sidescan sonar ahead of time to determine where the gear resides on the ocean floor. Without knowing where the gear is, it's almost like searching for a needle in a haystack. The fishers will be doing the retrieval based on informed information. We will be doing an in-depth mapping to determine where we want to prioritize so we will have a plan in place” prior to, and during the retrieval process “a technician onboard the vessels to help collect information on what's coming up.”
Abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear, commonly referred to as “ghost gear” makes up a large portion of all marine debris. It causes significant negative environmental, economic and social impacts including habitat degradation, indiscriminate fishing and entanglements, decreased catches, at-sea safety hazards and vessel damage. Ghost gear is generated by unfavourable environmental conditions, gear conflicts among fishers and other industries, poor gear condition, and inappropriate disposal at sea. Losses can be accidental — fishers are not always at fault as the marine environment is shared with other industries.
After a recent study estimating the presence of 1.8 billion pieces of marine debris on the Bay of Fundy seafloor, Tony Walker, an expert in plastic research and policy, remarked, "This project will help ground truth and effectively work to address some of the issues we discovered in our previous work using underwater video to identify and locate (ghost gear)."
Heather Mulock, executive director of Coldwater Lobster Association, said the last thing that fishers want to do is lose their gear.
"The ocean is where they make their living and protecting the marine environment, and their fishing grounds, is crucial for the long-term sustainability of all commercial fisheries.”
While most fishers try their best to retrieve lost gear, some gear inevitably remains at sea due to several challenges. For example, gear can be hard to relocate once it is lost and existing licence conditions of DFO limits retrieval.
“Existing licensing conditions present challenges for harvesters to bring ghost gear to shore, so projects like this are a great start to easing retrieval efforts,” said Mulock. “As a solutions-based association, we are excited to be a collaborator on this project. It's the start of something that can be much larger in allowing fishers to be a part of the solution.”
Another factor contributing to the problem is that waste management of end-of life-gear is disjointed with limited options for low-impact disposal methods. Cost and convenience are known barriers that hinder effective disposal, which perpetuates high-impact disposal methods such as illegal dumping.
The $8.3-million Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program, known as the Ghost Gear Fund will fund 22 projects in Canada and four internationally over the next two years. All projects fall into at least one of four categories: gear retrieval, responsible disposal, acquisition and piloting of available gear technology and international leadership.