WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ocean Conservancy and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) have launched a Small Grants Program for projects working on preventing abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, or ghost gear. With the support of the Government of Norway, Ocean Conservancy will fund 3-4 GGGI member projects with up to $30,000 USD each during the inaugural round, with a primary focus on helping local groups advance activities with demonstrable impact.

“Supporting local, on the ground projects has been a major part of the GGGI’s work since our inception in 2015,” said GGGI Director Ingrid Giskes. “The GGGI is pleased to be able to offer additional funding to our membership through these grants, and we look forward to being able to scale up our efforts.”

A part of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas® program since 2019, the GGGI is the only cross-sectoral alliance that addresses the problem of abandoned fishing gear worldwide. Through the collective impact of its more than 100 members, including 17 national governments, spanning across the private and public sectors, the GGGI aims to reduce the ecological and economic impacts of ghost gear through prevention, mitigation and removals.

Applications for the grants are open from Monday, January 4th to Friday, 12 February, 2021 at 17:00 US Eastern Standard Time (UTC -5). Winners will be announced in March. The program will only be open to GGGI members.

GGGI members can contact [email protected] to learn more about the application process.

###

About Ocean Conservancy
Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit www.oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

About the Global Ghost Gear Initiative
The Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) is the only cross-sectoral alliance dedicated to solving the problem of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) – widely referred to as “ghost gear” – around the world. The GGGI brings together more than 100 stakeholder groups, including 17 national governments as well as representatives from civil society, the private sector, public agencies, academia, intergovernmental organizations, and others from across the fishing industry to tackle ghost gear at a global scale. Since its founding in 2015, the GGGI has worked to implement a wide variety of preventative, mitigate and curative approaches to ghost gear, shaping fisheries management policy and building the evidence base around the prevalence and impact of this threat. In 2017, the GGGI developed the Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear, which has been adopted by a range of seafood companies and in national and regional marine litter and fisheries management action plans. The GGGI has made meaningful change on the ground in fishing economies and communities, partnering with local fishers to remove ghost gear in places like the Gulf of Maine, Panama City, and Vanuatu. Learn more at www.ghostgear.org.