New federal grants for FNQ communities to remove ghost nets

Ghost nets lurk beneath the ocean’s surface – some up to 1000m long and nearing 10 tonnes – killing marine life and creating dangerous hazards for ships. Here’s how you can help stop them.

The federal government is pouring millions of dollars into combating the scourge of deadly ghost nets – abandoned fishing nets and gear which in some cases can stretch up to a kilometre long and weigh up to 10 tonnes.

Minister the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said abandoned fishing gear was killing marine animals on an industrial scale.

But the removal of ghost nets and marine debris can be challenging, often due to size, strong tides, and the remoteness of the location in which they wash up.

To help clean-up Australia’s northern coastline, grants of $30,000 to $400,000 are available as part of a two-year, $3m grants program from the federal government.

The federal government has announced it will provide support for FNQ communities to remove the deadly abandoned fishing nets known as “ghost nets” which can be up to a kilometre long and weigh up to 10 tonnes. Photo: Anindilyakwa Rangers

Successful projects are will help detect or remove ghost nets and debris from Australia’s waters and dispose of them sustainably, possibly through new technological solutions.

This initiative builds upon years of hard work by Indigenous rangers, non-government organisations and communities in northern Australia who have been locating and removing deadly ghost nets and marine debris from our coastlines.

The groups have removed nearly 15,000 ghost nets from the Gulf of Carpentaria over a 15 year period.

The coastline of northern Australia has one of the highest global densities of ghost net pollution.

Tonnes of abandoned fishing gear drift into the Gulf of Carpentaria each year, entangling marine life, damaging coral reefs and creating biosecurity and vessel hazards.

The prevailing currents and conditions in the Arafura and Timor Seas and the Torres Strait mean that discarded or lost nets remain trapped in the Gulf until they are eventually washed ashore.

A ghost net is hauled aboard a barge in the Gulf of Carpentaria. . Photo: Anindilyakwa Rangers

Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef Senator Nita Green said she hoped to see many Traditional Owner groups participate in the grants process “in recognition of the vital role of First Nations communities in restoring the health of Northern Australia waterways and oceans.”

The program is part of a broader $14.8 million Ghost Nets Initiative.

Applications for the Ghost Nets Innovative Solutions grant program are open from 10 October to 5 December 2022.

More information via the Parks Australia or the SmartyGrants websites.

Originally published as New federal grants for FNQ communities to remove ghost nets