Removing Ghost Gear From Inshore Rhode Island Waters
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Rhode Island has an active commercial and recreational fishery, and fishermen have reported thousands of abandoned traps and piles of ghost gear near Rhode Island fishing ports and coastal waters. To explore this issue, the CFRF mapped ghost gear locations using fishermen’s knowledge and underwater video cameras in Narragansett Bay, and this initial project revealed the extent of the problem.
After mapping ghost gear hotspots, the CFRF created a plan to remove ghost gear from Rhode Island waters and is now implementing the plan to help reduce ghost gear in Narragansett Bay. This project trains fishermen to remove gear safely, combining best practices with local knowledge and skills. Our target locations for ghost gear removal so far have been guided by the results of a side scan sonar survey of Narragansett Bay conducted in 2023 by CSR Geosurvey, which identified 2,200 ghost traps.
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!
Narragansett Bay is a dynamic habitat that experiences active tidal action, and the bay’s currents and circulation patterns can result in changing sediment deposition. As a result, previously located target locations for ghost gear removal may have shifted. In addition, the bay supports both fixed and mobile commercial fishing activities in a relatively small area, which makes it especially susceptible to fishing gear interactions. It is difficult to evaluate the percentage of ghost gear we have removed or the rate of reaccumulating ghost fishing gear into the area. To address these issues, we are conducting additional side scan sonar surveys in 2025 and 2026 to update ghost fishing gear targets for removal in Narragansett Bay, support other funding for removal activities this year, and evaluate the success of our previous removals in reducing ghost gear in Narragansett Bay.
Inshore ghost gear removal PROgram GOALS:
This program combines multiple awards and projects that are focused on removing ghost gear from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The overall goals include:
At-sea ghost gear removal training for fishermen
Ghost gear removal and disposal guided by the hot spot map and side scan sonar surveys
Dissemination of data collected from retrieved gear
Conduct additional side scan sonar surveys to update target locations and evaluate the success of removal efforts
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.
