Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 April 2025
614. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress of the efforts by Bord Iascaigh Mhara to retrieve ghost gear (abandoned nets, and so on); the amount of material retrieved in each year since 1 January 2020; how successful these efforts have been; the cost of same; whether a new central scheme for all waterways is required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15385/25]
View answerBord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) implements the Clean Oceans initiative, which follows on from the previous 'Fishing for Litter' programme which has been in place since 2015.
Under the Clean Oceans initiative fishers participate voluntarily in the retrieval of marine litter that they encounter while at sea, and the disposal of same in designated facilities. As part of that programme, abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear may be collected during the course of fishing activities. There is no scheme in place to specifically retrieve only abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear. My Department supports BIM to administer this valuable initiative. Funding is provided to ports to support the costs of skips for the removal and disposal of the material retrieved under this initiative. A sum of €5,000 per year is available to each of the 12 ports taking part in this programme.
The following table provides further detail on the volumes of material collected over the timeframe specified:
|
Year |
Material Collected (in tonnes) |
|
2020 |
163 |
|
2021 |
181 |
|
2022 |
215 |
|
2023 |
155 |
|
2024 |
120 (estimated) |
|
TOTAL |
834 |
*please note that specific figures on ‘ghost gear’ collected are not available.
In terms of any central scheme for all waterways, I do not have the remit for environmental management of inland waterways. Queries related to that would be best addressed to Waterways Ireland (which operates under the overall policy direction of the North South Ministerial Council) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (which is under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage).
