Several Tonnes of Ghost Nets and Old Fishing Gear from the Baltic Sea

Keep Sweden Tidy has been working with various partners in Finland and Estonia to remove abandoned fishing gear from the Baltic Sea. At the same time, it has been raising awareness of the problem of ghost nets, amongst other things, among recreational anglers and the general public. Over the three years the project has been running, nearly 9,000 metres of ghost nets and over two tonnes of lost fishing gear have been retrieved from the sea.

^{Text: Lena Scherman}

‘Ghost nets and other lost fishing gear are a hidden but serious environmental problem in the Baltic Sea. By both cleaning up and taking preventive action, we can reduce the amount of plastic in the sea and protect marine life,’ says Eva Blidberg, an expert at Keep Sweden Tidy.

So-called ghost nets – abandoned, lost or dumped old fishing gear – are a serious problem throughout the sea. As they are often made of plastic, it takes a long time for them to break down, and in the meantime they continue to ‘fish’. When the plastic eventually does break down, microplastics and chemicals are released into the water, causing further damage to the marine environment.

Tons of abandoned fishing gear

The EU project Re:fish has been running for three years, a collaboration between Keep Sweden Tidy, the Finnish Environment Institute, Keep the Archipelago Tidy (Finland) and the University of Tartu (Estonia). Through coordinated dredging and diving operations, 228 square kilometres of coastal waters in the Baltic Sea have been cleared. An effort that has resulted in the recovery of 8,763 metres of nets and 2,044 kilograms of lost fishing gear, such as lures, lines, sinkers and fish traps.

‘When fishing nets were dredged in Finland, they contained fish, bird skeletons and hard-bottom organisms such as mussels,’ says Eva Blidberg.

‘Raising awareness of ghost fishing among anglers and the general public has been central to the project. At our litter-diving events, we met many curious people and were able to discuss how we can work together to reduce the risk of fishing gear being left behind in lakes and the sea,’ says Eva Blidberg.

^{Cover image: Archive image, Plastic waste in the sea.}

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