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Obtaining sustainable
fisheries in the
Skagerrak
Retrieval of lost fishing gear
to reduce “Ghost fishing”
Obtaining sustainable fisheries in the Skagerrak
Retrieval of lost fishing gear to reduce “Ghost fishing”
PUBLISHED BY
Forum Skagerrak II
WP3 Fish and shellfish
LAYOUT
Steve Hidinger
YEAR
2007
Hemsida: www.forumskagerrak.com
Introduction
“Ghost fishing” is the term used for fishing gear that continues to catch marine organisms
after they have been abandoned or lost at sea, are considered a potential source of significant
unaccounted mortality (Chopin et al.,1995). Ghost fishing normally occurs with passive
fishing gear such as longlines, gill nets, entangling nets, trammel nets, traps and pots.
Facts
Fishing gear can continue fishing long after they are lost or abandoned, e.g. gillnets are
expected to continue fishing for up to seven years if lost in waters more than 400 meters
depth. Large fish or cetaceans approach nets to feed on the smaller entrapped fish and can
also get caught. In a struggle to free themselves they contribute more and more to the
decreasing catching area of the net. Nets or bits of nets can be washed ashore by coastal or
oceanic currents. During the floating stage seabirds might get trapped when diving for fish or
parts of fish still trapped in the net.
Traps and pots operate slightly differently from gill nets and entangling. They are almost
always moored on the bottom with a line and float to mark their position. Fish and
crustaceans are usually attracted to the trap or pot by means of bait. Once in the trap or pot,
the fish or crustacean cannot escape. In the case of lost gear, the trapped fish do not die
immediately but once the food supply runs out they may starve. However, the trapped fish
may become the "bait" for other fish. It is this 'rebaiting' of the trap by captured fish or
crustaceans that forms the basis of ghost fishing by this gear.
Retrieval of lost fishing gear in the
Skagerrak
Since 1980 the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries have organised retrieval surveys for lost
fishing gear in Norwegian waters. Focus areas have been the deeper waters off the coast of
mid- and northern Norway. Sweden have performed similar surveys in The Baltic Sea and
Øresund (the waters between Sweden and Denmark) since 2001. No surveys have been
conducted in the Skagerrak, but increased focus on the issue from both EU and Norway, may
change this situation.
When establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), all lost fishing gear and rubbish that
may trap fish or other marine life should be removed. In limited areas searching and
localising fishing gear and rubbish can effectively be performed by divers and underwater
cameras. The findings can then be retrieved by a relatively simple gear e.g. drag and hook.
The retrieval method used by Norwegian Authorities is relatively large scale and hence best
suited for deeper waters. It is mostly used to remove gilnets, a fishing gear that is not much
used in the Skagerrak, but is also efficient to remove wires, longlines and trawls. The
Swedish retrieval method is of smaller scale and is adapted to the shallow waters in the
Baltic Sea and Øresund. Both methods or an intermediate method may prove the best
solution for Skagerrak. In figures 1 and 2 the Norwegian and the Swedish retrieval gear is
illustrated.
Nets
Figure 1 Retrieval gear used by The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (Furevik, in MC Mullen & al 2004).
Source: Directorate of Fisheries, Norway
Figure 2 Retrieval gear used by The Marine Research Institute of Sweden
Source: Institute of Marine Research, Sweden
The Retrieval Surveys have shown that it is possible to pick up lost nets with reasonable
good efficiency. The experience from the surveys does show that it is important to have
good information on the amount of gear lost and the positions where they are lost. It is also
important to do the surveys at a time of the year when good weather can be expected as the
efficiency of the retrieval equipment is reduced in bad weather.
Figure 3 Cod caught in ghost net (from Swedish
retrieval survey)
Figure 4 Some of the lures that was entangled to
retrieved fishing gear
Source: Institute of Marine Research, Sweden
Source: Institute of Marine Research, Sweden
Figure 5 Some of the catches from retrieval surveys
in the Baltic Sea
Source: Institute of Marine Research, Sweden
Figure 6 Ghost nest retrieved by a Scottish trawler in
2004
Source: Directorate of Fisheries, Norway
Figure 7 Removing dead fish from ghost nets
Source: Directorate of Fisheries, Norway
Further reading
Norwegian pages:
Information from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (Norwegian and English)
http://www.fdir.no/fiskeridir/ressursforvaltning/rapporter_utredninger/tapte_redskap/
garnopprydning_utenfor_norge_og_irland
Information brochure on how to avoid loosing fishing nets (in Norwegian)
http://www.fdir.no/fiskeridir/tall_og_fakta/brosjyrer_og_faktaark
Other relevant information (in Norwegian)
http://www.imr.no/__data/page/4081/Nr.1_2002_Tapte_garn_er_en_internasjonal_utfordring.pdf
http://www.fiskerifond.no/files/projects/attach/343024taptefiskegarn.pdf
EU-pages:
UK factsheet
www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1567
Institute for European Environmental Policy, report on Ghost Fishing by Lost Fishing Gear
http://www.ieep.eu/publications/pdfs/2005/ghostfishing.pdf
Baltic states project
www.balticseabreeze.org/documents/Kampanjer-och-aktiviteter/Baltic_SeaBreeze/
Pressmeddelande_Kleipeda.pdf
Contacts
Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, www.fiskeridir.no, Phone: +47 55 23 80 00
The Swedish Board of Fisheries, www.fiskeriverket.se, Phone: +46 31 743 03 00