Nearly 700 tonnes of 'ghost gear' retrieved after Hurricane Fiona

Destroyed houses and rubble following hurricane Fiona in Burnt Island, Newfoundland and Labrador on Tuesday September 27, 2022. Fiona left a trail of destruction across much of Atlantic Canada, stretching from Nova Scotia's eastern mainland to Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island and southwestern Newfoundland. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

Almost two years after Hurricane Fiona landed in Atlantic Canada, crews have recovered nearly 700 tonnes of lost, or “ghost,” gear.

According to a news release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the federal government established the $30 million Hurricane Fiona Ghost Gear Fund after the severe weather event made its way through the Maritimes in September 2022. The program has retrieved 695 tonnes of lost gear and 453 kilometres of rope in areas hit hardest by the hurricane.

“Ghost gear threatens the sustainability of fisheries, which harms the economic prosperity of coastal communities,” said Diane Lebouthillier, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, in the news release. “Tackling ghost gear is a group effort, and I look forward to continue working together with harvesters and other partners."

In the past four years, crews have recovered 2,233 tonnes of gear across Canada.