Re:Fish

The Re:Fish project addresses the problem of plastic pollution and ghost fishing in the Central Baltic Sea, starting with Sweden, Finland and Estonia as pilot areas. Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), including fishing accessories are present in all seas, lakes and streams where recreational fishing is carried out. Lost passive fishing gear, gillnets in this case, cause unnecessary suffering to fish, birds, and marine mammals. Additionally, these nets contribute to pollution of both plastic and hazardous substances. It is also a common problem that these nets are left outdoors where they fragment and spread microplastics in the environment. The project will do retrieval operations, clean ups, collection of end-of-life (EOL) gear, use citizen science, conduct tests with deposit systems and carry out awareness raising campaigns. Results, recommendations and experiences from Re:Fish will be transferred to recreational fishers and the general public as well as to relevant actors/stakeholders, such as producers and retailers of fishing gear. Different to previous projects, Re:Fish will not only remove litter from the ocean, but tie several loose ends, such as activating relevant actors (recreational fishers, NGOs, Universities, and authorities) to result in better prevention and monitoring of ALDFG in leisure fishing by using citizen science as the core data. Together with the actions mentioned, the model of the cooperation can be replicated in other geographical areas and tied to the entire Baltic Sea. The Re:Fish is a unique and novel opportunity to focus on the marine ALDFG related transboundary issues of marine environmental protection and management in a holistic cross-border manner. The budget for this application will be in total 1 791 797,93 EUR distributed as follows: Keep Sweden Tidy, 541 228,00 EUR; Keep the Archipelago Tidy, 255 249,28 EUR; The Finnish Environment Institute, 368 305,75 EUR; and University of Tartu, 627 014,90 EUR.