The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water
Senator Nita Green, Special Envoy for the Great Barrier Reef, Senator for Queensland
Australia’s northern coastline is a hotspot for marine debris and abandoned fishing nets known as ‘ghost nets’.
Some ghost nets can be up to a kilometre long and weigh up to 10 tonnes-they are a floating trap for any marine animal that encounters them.
The Albanese Labor Government is supporting communities and organisations to address this problem in northern Australia through a new $3 million grant program.
Grants of $30,000 to $400,000 are available over two years from early 2023.
Projects are encouraged to help detect or remove ghost nets and debris from our waters and dispose of them sustainably, possibly through new technological solutions.
This initiative builds upon years of hard work by Indigenous rangers, non-government organisations and communities in northern Australia who have been locating and removing deadly ghost nets and marine debris from our coastlines. These groups have removed nearly 15,000 ghost nets from the Gulf of Carpentaria over a 15 year period.
The program is part of a broader $14.8 million Ghost Nets Initiative to help protect our unique marine habitats and wildlife.
