Ghost nets are fishing gear lost at sea. The gear continue fishing for years before turning to marine micro plastics. The magnitude of lost gear in Sweden is not well documented, but it is estimated that e.g. 3 000 lobster pots are lost annually outside the Swedish west coast. To reduce the impact of ghost nets, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) supports dragging for lost gear.
The purpose of the project is to analyze to what extent lost gears affect fish stocks and the fishing sector from both a biological and economic perspective. Data from dragging operations (length and age of ghost nets, ghost catches, and cost of dragging) as well as economic data on fisheries affected by ghost nets will be used. The project will cover both the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat/Skagerrak.
The project is financed by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management and is a collaboration with the Linné University and Luleå Technical University. The project will be completed in autumn 2022.