In the last decade, the international community has increasingly recognized the need for global collaboration to counter the cross-border negative effects, both ecological and socioeconomic, of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), also known as ghost fishing gear. Described as one of the most dangerous forms of marine debris, abandoned fishing gear requires a deep understanding not only of the scale and nature of the problem but also of the capacity of current management systems to address this complex challenge. Although efforts have been made to understand the causes and impact of these wastes on the marine environment, significant gaps remain.
Thus, the main objective of the project is to quantify and minimize the impact of abandoned, accidentally lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) in the Black Sea environment. The project aims to remove at least 8,000 kg of ALDFG from the Black Sea through pilot actions implemented in each of the participating countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Türkiye, and Georgia. An awareness guide for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of fishing gear from the Black Sea will underpin these actions and be an integral part of the sustainability process. Moreover, mapping the areas where actions are carried out will facilitate future removal of abandoned fishing nets from the Black Sea waters.
Another important outcome will be the strengthening of capacities and knowledge exchange through training, promoting changes in the behavior of stakeholders in the fishing sector, by implementing best practices to minimize the loss of fishing gear and improve voluntary collection of ghost nets.
Analyzing information on the number and reasons why fishing gear is abandoned, along with investigating a set of alternatives and raising awareness among target groups for the recovery and recycling of these items, will help free the Black Sea from "ghost nets."
BlackNETs "Exorcising the BLACK Sea's Silent Killers" is a new project under the coordination of NGO Mare Nostrum, funded by the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Program and co-financed by the European Union. It has a duration of 18 months, and the total budget is €456,660.26. The project partners are: NGO Mare Nostrum – coordinator, Karadeniz Technical University (Turkey), Institute of Oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria), and Ilia State University (Georgia).