Prince Albert II Foundation Joins Fight Against Ghost Net Curse

Considered one of the most serious forms of marine pollution, the Mediterranean Sea is said to be flooded with this debris.

Abandoned fishing nets are dangerous to marine life. To help stop this scourge, the Prince Albert II Foundation joined the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) to help combat the threat of lost fishing gear.

Joined by Spain in April this year, the global initiative involves 20 governments and representatives from the private and public sectors. Founded in 2015, his GGGI aims to prevent nets from coming off and removing them from the ocean when it’s too late. In 2017, the initiative developed a “Good Practice Framework for Managing Fishing Nets” to help businesses and states better manage and recycle these deadly nets.

Related item: Prince Albert II: “Our contemporaries are increasingly recognizing the need to better manage the oceans.”

Ghostnets, comprising 46% to 70% of all macroplastics in the ocean, are considered one of the most pervasive forms of marine plastic pollution. In the Mediterranean, 77% of marine debris is drifting nets, a staggering figure that the Prince Albert II Foundation hopes to reduce through its influence and action.

“Protecting marine ecosystems and combating plastic pollution are major concerns of the Foundation. We need your help,” said Olivier Wenden, vice president and managing director of the Prince Albert II Foundation.

More information about Foundation activities: FPA2