GGGI Newsletter - May 2023

Dear GGGI Members,

We hope that this latest newsletter finds you filled with the same optimism and motivation that our team is feeling as we continue our signature projects and start new endeavors during this season of growth. 

The GGGI team continues to make connections with world leaders, private sector partners, and NGOs that share our goals to reduce the impact of ALDFG around the world. We continue to pursue our goal of having ALDFG included in the Internationally Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI, also known as the “plastics treaty”) that will be discussed specifically at the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) that will take place in Paris this month. 

In March, GGGI’s Hannah Pragnell-Raasch attended the 8^th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) hosted by Panama – one of the first countries to join the GGGI in 2017. We continued negotiations to advance the management of ALDFG locally, regionally and internationally and spearheaded discussions with governments to highlight the unique opportunity for ALDFG to be specifically included in the ILBI. Joining an expert panel, we participated in a side event discussing the Impact of Fishing Gear on Coastal Communities and further galvanised our partnership with the Panamanian government, signing a Memorandum of Understanding to advance action to address, and proactively manage, ALDFG nationally. Additionally, we co-hosted a dive retrieval off Taboguilla Island with the Aquatic Resource Authority of Panama (ARAP) removing over 110lbs of lost fishing net from the ocean.
 

Both GGGI Associate Director Joel Baziuk and GGGI Policy Specialist Hannah Pragnell-Raasch will be on the ground in Paris for the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) for the Intergovernmental Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution (ILBI, better known as the “plastics treaty”) which will be taking place May 29 – June 2 in Paris, France.

One of our main goals at INC-2 will be to advocate for the inclusion of specific language around ghost gear and end of life fishing gear in the “zero draft” of the ILBI. To this end, we have prepared a white paper outlining the GGGI leadership’s position - specifically proposing that one of the core obligations to be considered by the committee for inclusion in the ILBI should be the reduction of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), commonly known as “ghost gear.” As such, the document also outlines a series of specific voluntary approaches and binding control measures to prevent, mitigate and remediate the impacts of ALDFG in capture fisheries and aquaculture systems. Note, this white paper represents GGGI’s opinions as an organization and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or recommendations of the GGGI membership or its supporting governments.

Additionally, we are co-organizing an unofficial side event on the margins of the INC-2 negotiations with the World Bank/PROBLUE and other partners, and also working to possibly help co-organize and speak at an official side event on Thursday June 1st on ghost gear and mooring ropes in the context of the ILBI. We’ll have more to report on INC-2 in the coming months as the process moves forward.

On March 1-2 GGGI Project Specialist Claudia Cecilia Olimon presented at the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) workshop in Mexico City. The workshop was focused on ongoing efforts to mitigate marine litter and ghost gear in Mexico. The workshop, organized by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP), was attended by over 70 participants including 16 NGOs, government officials from the U.S. and Mexico, and GGGI North American Net Collection Initiative (NANCI) project partners; Parley, WWF Mexico, Manta Caribbean Project, WildCoast, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Mexico. The meeting was focused on the importance of partnership and collaboration under the USMCA. Workshop participants also emphasized the importance of local community engagement and outreach to share strategies for ALDFG mitigation efforts. 

Ocean Conservancy held a free workshop series to help potential grantees learn more about writing successful grant applications. The workshops were held on March 21-23 2023, but were recorded so that they could be used by future applicants. We encourage all applicants to our small grants program and Joanna Tool Award to access this workshop series free of charge.  

GGGI member and technology company Satlink launched its Project ReCon, a pioneer circular economy program that aims to give second life to Devices for Sustainable Fishing (DSF), and specifically to echosounder buoys, used in tropical purse seine tuna fishing. In order to prevent drifting buoys from being beached and becoming technological waste, Satlink is leading a worldwide collaborative network of local partners to collect these devices and refurbish them for new uses, giving them a second life for scientific and environmental purposes. Project ReCon takes its first steps in Australia, where Satlink's team has been working with Tangaroa Blue Foundation, Australian NGO, fellow GGGI member, and founder of the Australian Marine Debris Initiative.

• The problem of ghost nets is widespread in the south of France, where scientists and divers often come to the rescue to remove abandoned fishing gear.  Lost at Sea takes a deep dive into the issue with this video and article by Valerie Dekimp, Pierre Lemarinier, Elise Duffau, and Marina Bertsch. View the video and article here.

• A Halifax startup is testing out new technology aimed at helping the fishing industry recover lost lobster traps and other fishing gear that can be deadly to marine life. Learn more here. 

• Healthy Seas won in the Best Environmental Film Category for it's short documentary, "Journey to Ithaca" at the Cannes World Film Festival. Directed by Michael Westreicher, the 15-minute film tells the story of the biggest cleanup to date by Healthy Seas and it's partners. Read more here.