Trash dive in Stockholm’s Ström on World Oceans Day – In Search for Lost Fishing Gear
Sunday 8 June is the UN’s International World Oceans Day – a day when the well-being of the oceans is celebrated around the world. Within the EU project Re:Fish, which is led by the Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, an exciting litter dive is arranged during the day in Stockholm’s Ström with a focus on salvaging lost fishing gear. The public and media are now invited to participate.
Littering of the oceans is one of the biggest global environmental problems of our time, and this is also the case in Sweden. On some Swedish beaches, you can’t take a single step without stepping over hundreds of rubbish objects. It is plastic that dominates.
On beaches along the North Sea, plastic makes up as much as 99% of the litter. The most common are plastic fragments and threads and strings from fishing equipment.
Seabirds and marine animals often mistake plastic for food. When their stomachs fill with plastic instead of nutrition, they can starve to death. Even fishing gear dropped or dumped in the sea is among the most dangerous litter because it is made to catch fish.
Debris dive with a focus on lost fishing gear
On World Oceans Day on 8 June, the EU project Re:Fish is arranging a litter dive in Stockholms Ström, one of the capital’s most popular fishing spots. The focus is on collecting lost fishing gear from the bottom. The public and the media are warmly welcome to participate and take part in what is hidden under the surface.
The project Re:Fish is carried out by Keep Sweden Tidy together with project partners from Finland and Estonia. Representatives from Keep Sweden Tidy, Keep the Archipelago Tidy, the University of Tartu and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) will be present.
Time, place and contact
The event will take place at Stockholm Ström, opposite Karl XII’s Square in Stockholm, on 8 June at 12:00–15:00. The media are welcome to participate.
The contact person on site is Anna Ehn, 070–7237240 and anna.ehn@hsr.se.
About Re:Fish
The Re:Fish project addresses the problem of plastic pollution and lost fishing gear in the central Baltic Sea, with Sweden, Finland and Estonia as pilot areas. Lost fishing equipment, such as lures, lines and ghost nets, is found in all seas, lakes and streams where fishing is conducted. It causes unnecessary suffering to fish, birds and marine mammals. In addition, the nets contribute to the pollution of both plastics and hazardous substances.
The project carries out cleaning efforts at sea to collect lost fishing equipment and takes care of end-of-life fishing equipment. To date, about 4,600 meters of abandoned nets have been identified and salvaged from the Baltic Sea and more than 500 kg of end-of-life fishing gear has been collected from anglers and other actors. A total of 207 square kilometers have been cleaned, which is equivalent to 29,000 football fields.
The project runs from 2023 to 2026 and is funded through the EU’s Interreg Central Baltic Programme. Re:Fish project has been selected among the Operations of Strategic Importance (OSI), or strategic projects, which are key initiatives in the 2021-2027 EU programmes, including Interreg. They highlight significant contributions to programme objectives, showcasing the impact of EU funding.
Read more about the project at https://centralbaltic.eu/project/refish/
Mr. SƗawomir Tokarski, Director of the Directorate for Regional and Urban Policy at the European Commission, emphasises that in a time when the health of our aquatic ecosystems is under increasing pressure, the European Union continues to prove that cooperation, innovation, and shared knowledge are the keys to sustainable progress.
“The Interreg Central Baltic project Re:Fish, co-fincanced by the European Union budget, is an example of capacity building in action: cultivating the next generation ofecologically minded citizens and professionals. It is actively addressing nature protection and biodiversity conservation, aiming to balance human activity with environmental sustainability in the Baltic Sea. This cooperation project between Sweden- Finland and Estonia perfectly fits into the ongoing European agenda to protect marine ecosystems.”
Recently, the European Union announced a commitment of over €300 million towards ocean conservation. The awaited European Ocean Pact will be adopted by the European Commission in June 2025. This unified framework for ocean policies will support the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development, including the Baltic Sea.
Facts about litter in the oceans
- Scientists believe that there are between 75-199 million tons of plastic in our oceans, and more than 11 million tons are added every year.
- 94 percent of all plastic in the oceans is not visible, but lies on the seabed.
- A report from WWF shows that over 2,000 marine species have encountered plastic pollution in their natural environment.
- 80% of the litter in the sea is estimated to come from land.
- A study from IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute from 2022 estimates that 520–1040 tonnes of fishing gear consisting of fishing nets, trawls and fish traps disappear in the Nordic region every year.
Programme:
- Get tips on how to become a litter-free fisher
- Try fun activities for children
- Meet Tobias Fränstam, angler and author of The Pike Bible, and get inspired for your next fishing adventure!
- 12.00-14.00 See an exciting litter dive – what’s hiding beneath the surface?
