Tyneside tech firm Succorfish tackles £2bn 'ghost net' environmental pollution crisis

A Tyneside technology firm has created a device to tackle the global issue of lost fishing nets – an environmental pollution problem that also costs businesses £2bn every year.

Industry figures suggest that up to one million tonnes of gear – ‘ghost’ fishing nets – is lost at sea every year, leading to significant costs for marine firms and more in terms of environmental harm. But North Shields firm Succorfish has created MyGearTag, an acoustic location device that uses modem technology to help fishing boats find lost nets, pots and traps over a range of up to three kilometres.

Crafted from recycled fishing nets and weighing just 500g, MyGearTag is fitted on to new equipment as part of the manufacturing process, or retrofitted to fishing boats’ existing gear. After successful trials were carried out in the North Sea and the Arabian Sea, Succorfish launched MyGearTag at the recent Scottish Skipper Expo in Aberdeen. It is now working on finalising distribution and reseller agreements with a number of potential partners around the world.

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The kit has been developed in partnership with Newcastle University’s Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the pan-European NETTAG+ project, with grant funding provided by UK Research & Innovation and the European Union. Manufactured in the UK and assembled at Succorfish’s North Shields base, around 15 new jobs are expected to be created over the next year following the device’s launch, adding to the existing team of 20.

Founded in 2008, Succorfish’s hardware is already used by customers as far afield as Norway, Malta, the US, Australia and New Zealand, while it is also one of just two UK firms to have its Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems accredited for use in British fishing waters by the Marine Management Organisation.

Chad Hooper, founder and CEO at Succorfish, said: “There is nothing on the market like MyGearTag in terms of its size, cost, low power use and effectiveness, and we’re hugely excited about the prospects for its adoption by the commercial fishing industry right around the world. Industry figures suggest that between half a million and one million tonnes of fishing gear is lost at sea every year, at a financial cost of around $2.6bn (£2.06bn).

“Just under half of all the plastic in the world’s oceans is also estimated to be lost fishing equipment, while as well as causing significant pollution from simply being there, these ‘ghost nets’ can also cause substantial damage to underwater eco-systems and habitats.

“Fishing equipment can be lost for any number of reasons, such as bad weather causing lines to be broken or being accidentally dragged away from where they were left by other boats’ gear, and unless its owners know where it’s gone, it can be almost impossible to find it again.

“MyGearTag allows for lost fishing nets, pots and traps to be quickly located over a wide area, thus avoiding the substantial cost of replacing them, reducing the amount of plastic in our oceans and preventing
any damage being caused to marine life.

“From a sustainability point of view, the low-level noise that MyGearTag emits has been specifically designed to minimise any impact on the underwater environment, while working with the Ocean Material Group to manufacture the casing from recycled fishing nets adds an extra dimension to its environmental effectiveness.

“We’re now working towards building a global network of distributors and resellers that will take this technology out to all those fishing industry businesses that would benefit from adopting it.”