Re:Fish
The Re:Fish project addressed the problem of plastic pollution and ghost fishing in the Central Baltic Sea, starting with Sweden, Finland and Estonia as pilot areas. Lost fishing gear, including fishing accessories, is widely present in all seas, lakes and streams where recreational fishing is carried out. Gillnets cause unnecessary suffering to fish, birds, and marine mammals, and contribute to pollution from both plastics and hazardous substances. It is also a common problem that nets are left outdoors, where they fragment and spread microplastics in the environment.
Results
- 228 km² of seafloor cleaned of abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear along the coasts of Sweden, Estonia, and Finland.
- 8,763 meters of nets and 2,044 kilograms of fishing gear retrieved by trawling and diving.
- 1,237 kilograms of additional litter removed from the sea and beaches.
- 8.6 million people reached with messages on how to prevent the loss of fishing gear.
Read the full results and summary here.
Reports will be published on this website later this year.
If you have lost, found or seen litter, report it in Rosgis reporting app.
Expected results
The project carried out retrieval operations, clean-ups, and the collection of end-of-life fishing gear. It also generated knowledge through the use of citizen science, tested deposit systems, and implemented awareness-raising campaigns on the associated environmental problems. Re:Fish not only removed plastic from the Central Baltic Sea to improve environmental health, but also engaged relevant actors, including recreational fishers, producers and retailers, NGOs, universities, and authorities, to support preventive actions and enhance the monitoring of lost recreational fishing gear in the future.
Duration 01.03.2023 - 28.02.2026
Total budget
Programme priority
Improved environment and resource useProgramme objective
PO4 - Improved coastal and marine environmentLead partner
Keep Sweden Tidy FoundationProject News
Project Events
Project Stories
Gallery
Managing Authority
Joint Secretariat
c/o Regional Council
of Southwest Finland
Visiting address: Linnankatu 52 B, Turku, Finland
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 273,
20101 Turku, Finland
E-mail: info@centralbaltic.eu
Phone: +358 40 550 8408
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