Fishermen on the Frontlines of Addressing Modern Ocean Problems:
Removing Ghost Gear From Rhode Island Waters
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
One output of the modern world that impacts Rhode Island waters is plastic pollution. Nearly all fishing traps, ropes, and nets are now made of or are coated in plastic. An overlooked source of plastic pollution is lost or abandoned fishing gear, known as ghost gear.
Engaging fishermen in the process of removing ghost gear has been used successfully in several removal projects. However, without support, fishermen comment that they are unable to effectively remove and dispose of the ghost gear they encounter.
Over the last several years, CFRF has worked with fishermen to map hotspots of lost fishing gear, develop a plan for its removal from Rhode Island waters, and enact removal efforts. We began our first season of removal in 2023 and removed over 4,000 pounds of ghost gear. We continued ghost gear removals in 2024, which brought the total ghost gear removed to over 10,000 pounds!
This project, which is being completed in conjunction with our project to locate ghost gear targets and evaluate our removal efforts, is extending our ghost gear removal efforts in Narragansett Bay.
For more program highlights, check out our project summary flyer.
PROject GOALS:
The project goals include:
At-sea ghost gear removal training for fishermen
Ghost gear removal and disposal
Dissemination of data collected from retrieved gear
PARTNERSHIPS
Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island
The Global Ghost Gear Initiative
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
CFRF PROJECT TEAM:
Susan Inglis - Project Lead
Tori Thomas
Jack Moore
N David Bethoney
Removal Updates
The 2025 ghost gear removal season for our Narragansett Bay removal program has come to an end! Check out the blog post below to learn what we accomplished this year.
