Identification, recovery, and impact of ghost fishing gear in the Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary (New Jersey, USA): Stakeholder-driven restoration for smaller-scale systems

The impact of ghost fishing in large coastal ecosystems has generated considerable interest. In smaller, understudied systems with fewer stakeholders, derelict fishing gear (DFGs) may have impacts similar to these larger systems at the same relative scale. Four years of side scan sonar surveys in the Mullica River-Great Bay Estuary (New Jersey, USA) supported the recovery of 1776 DFGs off-season by commercial partners. Locations with high densities of recovered DFGs (>200 DFGs/km2) occupied intersections of recreational vessel traffic and commercial crabbing activity. Condition and depth-in-sediment of recovered DFGs was used to evaluate true bycatch (terrapins, whelks, blue crabs) versus species utilizing degraded gear as habitat (juvenile tautog, oyster toadfish). Critically, gear recovered in-season with low cost sonars (an additional 225 DFGs) prevented the accumulation of new DFGs which likely generate the highest percentages of bycatch. Removal of DFGs in this system led to significant ecological (reduced bycatch), economic (>$61,000 in direct pay, reused gear), and anticipated future benefits (increased harvest). •High resolution sonar surveys critical for assessing DFGs in unexplored systems•Small system with fewer stakeholders contained high densities of DFGs.•Stakeholder-driven DFG recoveries developed for a shallow, muddy estuarine reserve.•Economic benefits to stakeholders included direct pay, reused gear, future harvest.•DFGs recovered in-season with low-cost sonars prevented additional loss.