Spøkelsesfiske – når havet blir en kirkegård for fiskeredskaper.

Did you know that up to 30,000 fishing gear items are lost in Norwegian waters every single year? Meanwhile, a large-scale cleanup project between 2021 and 2022 managed to recover “only” 3,528 of them — over two years. The numbers speak for themselves: this doesn't add up.

The project “Measures Against Ghost Fishing in Marine National Parks” made an important contribution in Raet, Jomfruland, Færder, and Ytre Hvaler. Lost traps, nets, and lines were mapped and retrieved, new technology for more efficient recovery was developed, and researchers studied how ghost fishing affects coastal marine life.

But the figures reveal a serious structural problem:
🔹 Lost per year: ~30,000 gear items
🔹 Recovered in the project: 3,528 items (over two years)
🔹 Recovery rate: ~6% of one year's losses

This means the ocean is continuously filling up with lost gear — continuing to catch fish, crabs, and other species for years. This is not just an environmental issue — it’s a resource problem and an ethical concern.

What needs to be done?

• Prevention first. It must become easier and more rewarding to secure gear against loss.

• Technology in action. Solutions like TrapSaver™, which allow fishers to locate and retrieve traps, must be widely adopted.

• Scalable cleanup programs. We need long-term solutions — not just short-term project funding.

• Collaboration. Fishers, authorities, technology providers, and environmental organizations must pull in the same direction.

Ghost fishing is a silent problem. It happens beneath the surface — literally. But the consequences are very real.