In May 2025, Ghost Fishing UK divers teamed up with Wreckspeditions for a new project near Dunoon and, this time, the cameras were rolling. The BBC joined us on day three to film the retrieval of an extraordinary amount of lost fishing gear, shining a light on a hidden problem lurking beneath Scotland’s coastal waters.

As part of a three day project, on the final day, our six member strong volunteer dive team recovered 0.75 nautical miles (~1.3km) of rope and 52 whelk pots (also known as buckies) from Holy Loch. This is a new record for the charity for the longest string with the most pots recovered in a single day.

A Ghost Gear Town Underwater

Holy Loch is well known for it’s fishing community and, like all others, pots and line are often lost. This can be for many reasons including bad weather or passing boats that run over and destroy the lines that attach the pots to the surface of the water. Without these vital lines, recovery can become almost impossible for the fishers which is where the mission of Ghost Fishing UK becomes so vital.

Every pot recovered represents marine life that will no longer be needlessly trapped. Each length of line removed helps reduce the risk of entanglement for seals, birds, and other sea life as well as making the area safer for divers, boaters and other members of the fishing community.

On day one of the project, using local knowledge gained from close relationships with the local fishing community, Ghost Fishing UK surveyed Holy Loch looking for a string of lost pots. The string was found, and with lots of planning, on day three, all 1.3km of rope and 52 pots were recovered. As if this wasn’t enough, on day two, Ghost Fishing UK divers also cleaned up the local Holy Loch wrecks of several hundred metres of plastic sheeting trapped round a wreck as well as various other pots, lines and assorted litter.

Local Knowledge, National Reach

We are proud to work alongside Wreckspeditions, a local dive charter run by Jason Coles and Clare Hallybone who are also both Ghost Fishing UK divers with an intimate knowledge of the Clyde’s underwater landscape. Their support was vital to the operation’s success.

The presence of the BBC film crew for the BBC One Show made this recovery even more impactful. Documenting the recovery brings national attention to the issue of ghost fishing gear, helping the wider public understand both the scale of the problem and the solution volunteer divers can provide. Also present and filming with the BBC were members of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) which has led to the establishment of a valuable relationship with Ghost Fishing UK. As a result of this, the MCS are now being supplied with data on ghost fishing and trapped marine life.

What Happens Next?

The gear we recover is documented and returned to the fishing community for reuse where it is in suitable condition. In this case, a local boat has agreed to reuse all the pots as they are valuable and will otherwise go to waste. Anything too damaged is recycled through our partners such as Behaviour Change Cornwall or if that is not possible, responsibly disposed of.

All the pots we recovered contained marine life, some alive and some dead — a stark reminder of how ghost gear continues to trap and kill marine life indefinitely if left undisturbed. In total the pots contained 341 live and 171 dead animals. All the marine life, both dead and alive was logged and then returned to the ocean.

How Can I Help?

Ghost Fishing UK could not run without the support of our generous donors. You can donate here to directly support our mission and help join our fight to clean up the oceans around the UK. You can also support us by purchasing merchandise from our shop or from our partners such as Behaviour Change Cornwall or Ocean Plastic Pots. Every donation and sale helps us in our mission to clean up ghost gear. It costs around £700 a day to charter a boat, and each gas fill used by our volunteers can cost £25. Our entire team are volunteers who give up their free time, their annual leave and incur costs through self-funding their driving, food and accommodation. We could not do any of this without your donations. In addition, supporting small businesses who use recycled ghost gear supports existing recycling pathways by ensuring ghost gear can continue to have a commercially viable second life.

To actively find ghost gear, anyone who is a diver, snorkeller, freediver or swimmer, or who happens to spot ghost gear while out at sea can report it to us here. Members of the fishing community can also report here. This intelligence is vital to our mission as we cannot recover ghost gear without knowing where to find it.

Finally, if you’re a diver who meets our diver requirements and you’re interested in joining us, we’re always on the look out for new volunteers. We pioneered the world’s first ghost fishing course and continue to lead in teaching safe and responsible ghost fishing recovery and would love to have you join us. Read more about joining us here. If you’re not a diver, you can still help us out by being a surface volunteer. Ghost fishing is hard work, and we always hugely appreciate anyone who is willing to give their time to help us clean and sort net, roll up lift bags or do anything that makes it easier for us to recover the ghost gear. The job has only just begun when the ghost gear reaches the surface, and surface volunteers are invaluable.

Ghost Fishing UK are proud of our achievements during this project and look to continue this success through further planned projects for 2025 and beyond.