April 10. 2014 — Over the course of seven days, the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) in Provincetown with the assistance of crews from four local fishing vessels and other local organizations and agencies, removed nearly ten tons of fishing gear and other assorted items from the ocean floor off Provincetown. The gear, commonly referred to as "ghost gear", includes lost, abandoned and derelict fishing and lobstering equipment.
The clean-up was part of CCS's second year of the Outer Cape Derelict Gear Assessment and Retrieval Program. Last year, CCS and its partners removed 12 tons of gear from the ocean floor.
Crews of four commercial lobster vessels, All In, Miss Lilly, Little Sammy and Morgan Gayle assisted with the efforts. According to a CCS release, side-scan sonar was used to identity areas where derelict gear was present. Once the sonar work was completed, the grappling phase began, during which time the gear was hauled out of the water.