Question Period Note: Ghost Gear

• Since the establishment the Ghost Gear Program in 2019, Canada has become a global leader in addressing abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear. With the help of our partners, more than 41,300 units, or over 2,400 tonnes of gear as well as more than 940 km of rope have been removed from Canadian waters.
• We are actively collaborating with partners and stakeholders across Canada to develop a Canadian Ghost Gear Action Plan. The plan will be completed in 2027 and will outline regulatory tools and gear management practices to continue to address ghost gear into the future.
• My officials attended the 2nd International Fishing Gear Innovation Summit in February 2025 to discuss innovative whalesafe and ghost gear solutions with global experts.

• 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). It is a form of marine pollution that can be fatal to fish, marine mammals, and other marine life. It poses a navigation hazard and may break down into other forms of pollution such as microplastics.
• DFO, working with partners and stakeholders, has made significant progress tackling lost (ghost) fishing gear in Canada and abroad through the Ghost Gear Program.
• Canada has been at the forefront of addressing this issue, signing on the Global Ghost Gear Initiative in 2018, establishing a Ghost Gear Program in 2019, mandating lost gear reporting in 2020, and sharing lost gear reporting data with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative’s Data Portal in 2022 and again in 2025.
• As part of the program, specific funding periods were created under the Ghost Gear Fund to support projects focusing on ghost gear retrieval, disposal, technological advances, and international leadership.
• Since 2020, the Ghost Gear Fund contributed a total of $58.4 million to 144 projects. Funding recipients who focused on retrieval were able to recover more than 41,300 units, or over 2,400 tonnes of gear, as well more than 940 km worth of rope from our waters.
• DFO is working on a Canadian Ghost Gear Action Plan to prevent fishing gear loss in the future and will continue to support our partners in their efforts to keep our waters free from fishing gear debris.

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