top of page

One man and his barrow tackling ghost nets

Julian Collison


One man and his wheelbarrow, with a bucket load of determination.

Last weekend the team at Fathoms Free were all committed to work or volunteer activities when we received a message from our friends at Castaway Ropeworks that a trawl net had been pulled off a beach near Butchers Cove in Devon and needed recovering. Castaways had been tagged in a Facebook group by locals, and they then promptly contacted us to see if we could respond.

With half the team committed to volunteering with our friends at Sea Shepherd UK and another doing a long shift at work; it was all down to one man, a wheelbarrow and a bucket load of determination.

John, dropped what he was doing, purchased himself a wheelbarrow and set off on a mission. Thanks to some great information from the member of public, John located the net. He then just about managed to get it all on the wheelbarrow in one go and tied it down. After pushing the wheelbarrow over half a mile up hill, through tight footpaths and across a field, he arrived back at the truck which he had parked as closely as possible.

Due to the excessive amounts of exertion and John working solo, his photography skills weren't award winning - but on this occasion we don't care! A tremendous effort on his part! Also a big thank you to the members of public who initially pulled the net off the beach in the first place!

The net and plastics recovered will be completely recycled through Odyssey Innovation Ltd


 
 
 

Comments


Fathoms Free is a group of volunteer divers who protect marine wildlife and the environment for everyone's benefit by removing ALDFG (abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear) and other marine debris from the coastal waters of Cornwall and Devon.

ALDFG is also known as ghost gear or ghost fishing gear, as it continues to "fish," entangling, trapping, and killing wildlife indiscriminately. These trapped animals will die and act as bait, attracting more wildlife in a vicious cycle of death until the ghost gear is removed from the environment.

  • Facebook

Fathoms free are a registered charity.

UK charity number 1192613

bottom of page