Capabilities

Lost and abandoned fishing gear threatens both marine ecosystems and fishery economies, yet many people remain unaware of this hidden threat beneath the surface of our coastal waters. We partnered with the Nationwide TRAP Program to help engage stakeholders and develop communication products that showcase the importance and impact of their mission.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) was awarded a four-year, $8 million grant from the NOAA Marine Debris Program to coordinate the removal of derelict “ghost” traps and standardize trap retrieval data to streamline analysis and prevent future gear loss. The resulting TRAP Program funds project partners across the country to retrieve derelict gear in their fisheries and document the traps, target species, and bycatch recovered.

Green Fin Studio partnered with VIMS to provide ongoing communications support and amplify the TRAP Program’s impact while also raising awareness about the derelict trap issue. At the project onset, we developed the TRAP Program website, an ArcGIS Survey123 field data collection form, and an interactive data dashboard. We illustrated an infographic depicting the life cycle of a derelict trap as well as seven fishery overview infographics with technically accurate traps and crustaceans. For each round of project partners, we captured their trap retrieval stories in written, visual, and video formats that highlighted their work. We also supported the TRAP Program’s Policy Innovation Lab and VIMS Plastic Pollution Lab with custom graphics for their respective efforts to understand the regulations around gear management and the impact of trap plastic components.

Over the course of our partnership with the TRAP Program, we have developed 30 infographics, 13 partner spotlights, and two videos.