Question Period Note: Ghost Gear Program

• Through new funding to the Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program (Ghost Gear Fund), we will continue to support fish harvesters to acquire new gear technologies to reduce gear loss, and take concrete actions to support ghost gear retrieval and responsible disposal.
• Ghost fishing gear is estimated to make up to 70% of all macro-plastics in the ocean by weight and can impact global harvestable fish stocks by 5-30%.We are committed to showing leadership in this issue through our Ghost Gear Program.
• In 2020 we expanded mandatory reporting requirements for lost and retrieved gear to all commercial fisheries, which has helped to identify 126 pieces of marked gear, 101 of which were reclaimed by their owners.

Regulatory Amendments and Licencing
• Permits are issued as part of the Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program to allow fish harvesters and other third-parties to retrieve ghost fishing gear.
• The Wrecked, Abandoned and Hazardous Vessels Act provides authority for program recipients to participate in ghost gear retrieval efforts, and to dispose of the gear in a responsible manner.
Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program (Ghost Gear Fund)
• In July 2020, Fisheries and Oceans Canada selected 26 projects out of 84 applicants to receive funding from the Ghost Gear Fund. Twenty-two projects were funded within Canada, and four internationally.
• All successful projects fall into at least one of four eligible categories: gear retrieval, responsible disposal, acquisition and piloting of available gear technology, and international leadership.
• New innovations in gear technology contribute to our blue economy, and are essential to the prevention and mitigation of ghost gear. The program supports fish harvesters looking to acquire market ready gear technologies to reduce gear loss.

Ghost Gear Fund 2020 Results
• So far 195 retrieval trips have been completed in Atlantic Canada as part of the Ghost Gear Fund with retrieval activities in the Pacific commencing in 2021.
• Early estimates show that 63 tonnes of lost or discarded fishing gear was retrieved from Atlantic Canada in 2020.
• A recycling depot specifically designed for ocean plastics was built in Ucluelet, B.C., and additional fishing gear recycling opportunities are being developed in Powell River.

• The term 'ghost gear' refers to any fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded (for example nets, line, rope, traps, pots, and floats). Other common terms include abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear or ‘ALDFG’ and derelict fishing gear or ‘DFG’. It is a form of marine pollution that can be fatal to fish, marine mammals and other marine life, poses a navigation hazard, and may break down into other forms of pollution such as microplastics.
• The un food and agriculture organization (FAO) estimates that ghost gear represents approximately 10% of marine debris by volume. There is growing international attention on the problem of ghost gear, as well as other forms of marine litter. For example, the FAO has recognized ghost gear as a major global problem since the 1980s. The 1995 FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries and related technical guidelines include advice to minimize ghost gear and the responsibility to recover lost gear.
• Ghost fishing gear can cause large-scale damage to marine ecosystems through habitat disturbance and causes direct harm to the welfare and conservation of marine animals via entanglement and/or ingestion.
Canadian context
• The Canadian code of conduct for responsible fishing operations includes an expectation (guideline 2.8) for fish harvesters to ‘make every effort to retrieve lost fishing gear, reporting all lost gear’. The department collaborates with conservation groups and partners to rescue sea life that has been entangled by sea-based marine debris, and with the fishing industry to retrieve gear on an ad hoc basis. The 2-year sustainable fisheries solutions and retrieval support contribution program will allow for a dedicated program to tackle the issue of ghost gear domestically and abroad.
• The current regulatory/licencing regime is prescriptive in terms of types, quantities and identification of fishing gear that a harvester can have on board their vessel and/or fish. Additionally, the location where a harvester can fish is very prescriptive. While these measures were intended to ensure compliance with quotas and allocations, they impede the ability of a harvester to retrieve gear which they are not permitted to use and/or is located in areas they are not authorized to fish. An assessment of DFO legislation is currently underway to ensure that any potential impediments to addressing and reducing ghost gear domestically are identified and addressed.
Canada has been pushing to strengthen measures in internationally managed fisheries. There is support for this but also recognition that for small island developing states and other developing states that the measures need to also come with increased capacity domestically – both policy, social and operational (e.g. reception centres, reporting, etc).

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