Large monofilament net recovered from the River Tamar at Cremyll, Cornwall

At the end of March, we assisted Cornwall IFCA and Environment Agency deal with a large and deadly monofilament net reported near the shore at Cremyll in Cornwall, very close to Mount Edgcumbe.

This was poorly timed for us Stingray was still not fully operational, and we were right in the middle of swapping boat trailers between the RIBs and making some modifications.

Therefore, with a team comprising staff from IFCA, the EA Fathoms Free the decision was made to take advantage of the extra low water levels resulting from the spring tide and recover the remainder of the net from shore.

This net looked remarkably similar and wasn't far from where we recovered the monofilament net at the end of 2023, which had killed multiple birds, so we wanted to get it out of the water as soon as possible.

The team worked relentlessly in the muddy conditions, retrieving hundreds of metres of deadly netting and carefully cutting free any lucky live crustaceans to return them to the water, along with scores of marine life that hadn't been so fortunate.

Despite the EA already removing a large quantity of net on the first visit, we still had over a truckload on this recovery and needed to make two trips to recover it all.

The net is now on its way to Odyssey Innovation Ltd for recycling and no longer poses a threat to life and the environment.