No ghost gear from international sources washing up in Northern Australia by 2030
Northern Australia is a global ghost gear hotspot.
First Nations Rangers work relentlessly to disentangle wildlife and remove thousands of nets each year, yet much of the harm to marine life happens long before the nets reach the shore.
But it's not just Australia. Rubbish throughout the Arafura Sea degrades marine ecosystems and the social systems that rely on them. In coastal fishing communities across Indonesia and the Southwest Pacific, discarded nets are both an environmental disaster and economic burden - threatening livelihoods, food security and safety. Many communities rely on unsustainable fishing practices due to a lack of viable alternatives. With no waste management infrastructure, no financial incentives to recover lost gear, and limited government intervention, the cycle of ghost gear continues.
For two decades, we have worked to understand the ghost net issue, its sources, and the solutions needed for transformational change. By applying systems thinking to tackle the root causes -working at policy, finance, and community levels - we are breaking the cycle and creating lasting, self-sustaining impact.
The pathway is now clear.
By turning ghost nets into an economic opportunity, we can stop the flow of plastic, reduce poverty, and restore marine ecosystems—creating a future where ghost nets no longer reach Australian shores.
To do this, we are:
- Keeping plastic from entering the ocean by creating wealth from waste opportunities through social enterprise models including for waste to energy and fishing gear recycling.
- Addressing the legacy ghostnets within the Arafura Sea through a world first seabed clean up that helps restore connection to country and reduce the clean-up burden for First Nations communities
- Providing in-situ fit for purpose recycling and disposal solutions for communities to capitalise on this material; creating jobs and helping heal country and people
We’re working to turn off the tap — clean-up and stop ghost nets entering the ocean
“Ghost nets” are abandoned, lost or discarded fishing nets that are haunting our oceans and continuing to fish.
These nets impact marine life by being ingested by, or entangling and drowning, countless species including marine mammals, sharks and turtles.
Gear conflict, illegal fishing, poor fishing practices or navigation, snagging, and bad weather can result in nets becoming ghost nets.
Ghost nets continue to fish - this attracts predators and scavengers who feed on the catch and can also get entangled. (Shark)
Nets float in the current, sink due to the weight of their catch only to later be resuspended in a never-ending cycle of destruction.
Ghost nets can get caught on reefs, smothering coral and sponge gardens and killing sea life.
Turtles account for 80% of entanglements.
After more than a year at sea, the nets wash ashore on remote beaches and in mangroves areas where dedicated people collect them, releasing any live animals that are trapped.
Work is constant, difficult and labour intensive, with no end in sight.
End of life recovery programs offer fishers financial motivations to return old nets to shore reducing the risk of them becoming ghost nets.
Buying old nets offers fishers a return on investment, lowering operating costs, providing alternative income for fishing communities.
High consumer demand and highly recyclable materials creates a highly valuable product.
Cleaning up the legacy nets is key to reducing the never-ending work in retrieving nets washed up on remote areas.
Profits of recycling programs help fund at-sea clean-up effort to address the legacy nets in the system before they do more damage.
Working to build the capacity of fishers in the region in how to avoid their gear becoming ghostnets is important.
We’re working to turn off the tap — clean-up and stop ghost nets entering the ocean
“Ghost nets” are abandoned, lost or discarded fishing nets that are haunting our oceans and continuing to fish.
These nets impact marine life by being ingested by, or entangling and drowning, countless species including marine mammals, sharks and turtles.
Gear conflict, illegal fishing, poor fishing practices or navigation, snagging, and bad weather can result in nets becoming ghost nets.
Ghost nets continue to fish - this attracts predators and scavengers who feed on the catch and can also get entangled. (Shark)
Nets float in the current, sink due to the weight of their catch only to later be resuspended in a never-ending cycle of destruction.
Ghost nets can get caught on reefs, smothering coral and sponge gardens and killing sea life.
Turtles account for 80% of entanglements.
After more than a year at sea, the nets wash ashore on remote beaches and in mangroves areas where dedicated people collect them, releasing any live animals that are trapped.
Work is constant, difficult and labour intensive, with no end in sight.
End of life recovery programs offer fishers financial motivations to return old nets to shore reducing the risk of them becoming ghost nets.
Buying old nets offers fishers a return on investment, lowering operating costs, providing alternative income for fishing communities.
High consumer demand and highly recyclable materials creates a highly valuable product.
Cleaning up the legacy nets is key to reducing the never-ending work in retrieving nets washed up on remote areas.
Profits of recycling programs help fund at-sea clean-up effort to address the legacy nets in the system before they do more damage.
Working to build the capacity of fishers in the region in how to avoid their gear becoming ghostnets is important.
Places we work
We are based in Australia and work across Australia, Coral Triangle and the Pacific
GhostNets
Ghost nets pose a severe threat to marine ecosystems
1. No ghost gear from international sources washing up in Northern Australia by 2030
2. No ghost gear from recreational fishing in Australia by 2030
3. A circular program for end-of-life fishing gear in the commercial sector by 2030