Each year, up to 30,000 fishing gear items are lost in Norway, yet cleanup projects retrieve only a fraction — as seen in the “Measures Against Ghost Fishing” project, which removed just 3,528 gear items over two years. That’s only about 6% of a single year’s losses, highlighting a serious issue.

To reduce this, we need to focus on:

• Prevention

• Technology like TrapSaver™ for gear recovery

• Scalable cleanup programs

• Close collaboration between fishers, authorities, and environmental organizations