Project ReCon tracks and retrieves first deadly and destructive ghost gear 4...
Project Recon
A world-first program that uses retrieved and repurposed satellite technology to track and remove deadly and destructive ghost nets
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BUSTING GHOST NETS HAUNTING THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
With giant ghost nets wreaking havoc on marine life and corals around the Great Barrier Reef, Tangaroa Blue Foundation has taken to the sky by partnering with international technology company Satlink to launch a world first program which uses satellite technology to tag and track ghost nets while retrieval teams are mobilised to remove them.
“With our teams looking for ways to reuse and recycle international commercial fishing echosounder buoys retrieved from beach clean-ups along the Reef, it was very much a case of who ya gonna call” says Heidi Tait, CEO of Tangaroa Blue Foundation.
“Turns out, Satlink was the ghost net buster we needed to speak with to be able to repurpose the buoys and divert them from landfill.”
The program, which started on the Great Barrier Reef, is now being rolled out around Australia through the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) network.
“By working with international commercial fishing fleet partners, we can have the buoys recovered by Tangaroa Blue and their AMDI partners tested and reassigned to track ghost nets along the Reef. The technology also allows virtual fences around reefs, providing notifications before nets impact critically sensitive areas”
Kathryn Gavira, Satlink’s Head of Science & Sustainability.
Lost or discarded ghost nets the size of football fields currently drift unsupervised across the Great Barrier Reef, causing untold damage to marine life and fragile corals.
We are working with AMDI partners (which include Indigenous Rangers, tourism operators and commercial vessels) who deploy the buoys as part of their monitoring work.
This means if a ghost net can’t be removed due to its size and capacity of the vessel and crew who find them, a buoy can be immediately attached, and the net’s movement tracked in real-time by satellite until a retrieval team is mobilised.
Implementing Project ReCon along the Reef will help reduce technological waste, reduce impacts on coastal environments.
