Best Practice Framework for the Management of Aquaculture Gear

The Global Ghost Gear Initiative® (GGGI) is the foremost global alliance dedicated to tackling the problem of abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG or “ghost gear”) by building evidence about the extent of the problem; defining, informing and implementing practices and policies that prevent gear from getting lost; and catalyzing and replicating scalable solutions to recover gear around the world. 
Over the last decade, there has been considerable attention focused on the scale of ALDFG and the impacts on the aquatic environment by ALDFG through ghost fishing, entanglement and habitat damage (Macfadyen et al. 2009). This attention has been revitalized in recent years by the growing realization of the scale and potentially catastrophic impact of plastic pollution and its accumulation in aquatic ecosystems, and the contribution of ALDFG to this global problem. In 2017, the GGGI took a major step forward by producing its Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear for wild capture fisheries (C-BPF).
With the increasing awareness of the impact of plastics on aquatic environments, attention is also being focused on aquaculture. Plastics are used extensively in marine fish farming; for example, in cages (e.g., in the collars and nets themselves, as well as in feeding systems), in coastal fishponds (e.g., in pond liners), and in shellfish farming (e.g., in mussel socks, oyster spat collectors and mussel pegs). These plastics are susceptible to loss through extreme weather events, mismanagement of waste or deliberate discharge. Although global losses of plastics from aquaculture to the aquatic environment are probably lower in volume than from fishing (Huntington, 2019), aquaculture continues to grow worldwide, being the fastest growing food producing sector with an expected growth of 37% by 2030 over 2016 rates (FAO, 2020). The GGGI therefore decided in 2020 to produce a Best Practice Framework for the Management of Aquaculture Gear (A-BPF).