Removing ghost nets in Limfjorden

‘Ghost nets’ are a common occurrence for many fishers in Denmark, as nets lost at sea can be difficult to recover and are environmentally harmful. Aalborg Municipality is using EU support to help solve this problem by mapping the location of ghost nets and other marine litter and having local fishers collect this waste at sea. The project gathered information on the location of ghost nets (approximately 5 000 ghost nets in the Limfjorden and Aalborg Bugt, an estimated 120 tons) from fishers and scientists using a reporting tool, oral reports from fishers and divers, and scientific reporting. This data is used to systematically map the location of ghost nets in the entire project area in cooperation with local associations and local fishers. Areas are searched and ghost nets are collected by local commercial fishers, to ensure that the project has the maximum efficiency, utilising local knowledge.