Skip to main content
Methodology and templates

MCC-M008 Marine Gear Loss Prevention — Methodology

Version 1.1Adopted 2026-09-01 · FD-2026-09-01EnglishMCC-M008_Marine_Gear_Loss_Prevention_v1.1_ADOPTED.md

Adopted by founder decision FD-2026-08-24; formal board ratification is the first item of business when the programme board is constituted. Published verbatim from the maintained corpus — changes occur only by amendment with a version bump.

MCC-M008 — Marine Gear Loss Prevention (Ghost Gear Recovery)

Methodology text, Version 1.1 — ADOPTED 1 September 2026 (FD-2026-09-01, D1; board ratification 23 September 2026) Family: MCC-F04 Marine Pollution Prevention · Credit type: MCC-MCU · Registry status: APPROVED (since FD-2026-08-24, D6)

Adoption basis: MCC-M008 was approved on 24 August 2026 (FD-2026-08-24, item D6) with its unit definition, buffer rate and applicant guidance, but without a consolidated methodology text in the module structure of MCC-200 cl. 0023/0034 (methodology audit 01.09.2026, finding F1). This text introduces no new normative choices: every provision codifies substance already adopted, with the source stated per module. Where this text and an adopted source conflict, the adopted source prevails.

MOD-01 — Applicability

Sources: F04 Applicant Guidance v1.1 §1–2; MCC-200 cl. 0024, 0082; MCC-100 cl. 0041–0042.

  1. This methodology applies to activities that remove lost, abandoned or otherwise discarded fishing gear ("ghost gear") from marine and coastal waters, and to activities that demonstrably prevent gear loss.
  2. Geographic scope: marine and coastal areas where the project documents compatibility with host-country environmental law, marine management rules and institutional frameworks (MCC-200 cl. 0082; Host Country Authorisation Procedure v1.0 — CA status NOT_APPLICABLE on the contribution basis, FD-2026-08-24 D8).
  3. Eligibility conditions: (a) documented legal right to operate in the project area; (b) a documented chain from recovery event to final disposition; (c) the activity goes beyond an existing legal obligation — gear recovered under a mandated clean-up does not qualify (additionality); (d) the project boundary supplied as GeoJSON (PDD section A.3).
  4. Out of scope: land-based waste, gear in active use, and activities already credited under another programme (Double Counting Prevention Policy).

MOD-02 — Baseline and Additionality

Sources: F04 Applicant Guidance v1.1 §3; MCC-200 cl. 0025; MCC-100 cl. 0042(e).

  1. Baseline scenario: absent the project, lost gear remains in the marine environment, and gear continues to be lost at the rate documented for the area or fishery.
  2. Additionality is demonstrated by showing (a) that the recovery is not legally required of the actor, and (b) that the activity would not occur without credit revenue (financial test documented in PDD section B).
  3. The baseline is evidenced with site-specific material (fishing activity, reported gear loss, clean-up history) and updated each crediting period.

MOD-03 — Quantification

Sources: FD-2026-08-24 item D6 (position A); Definitions Register v1.0 (D6); Buffer Pool Management Policy v1.0.

  1. Unit definition: 1 MCC-MCU = 100 kg of recovered and documented gear (wet weight after draining, per the weighing protocol in the F04 guidance).
  2. An MCU is a mass-based conservation unit. It carries no climate claim; no conversion to tCO2e takes place or is permitted (MCC-100 cl. 0183.2; Claims Policy §4).
  3. Quantification is conservative: mass is rounded down to the nearest whole unit; undocumented events are not counted.
  4. A 10 % uncertainty buffer is withheld at issuance and contributed to the buffer pool (Buffer Pool Management Policy v1.0).
  5. Data requirements per recovery event: date, position (GPS), gear type, mass, vessel/actor and photographic documentation.

MOD-04 — Monitoring

Sources: F04 Applicant Guidance v1.1 §4; MCC-200 cl. 0027; MCC-100 Annex B.

  1. Continuous event logging (MOD-03 item 5) with a traceable chain to final disposition.
  2. Monthly satellite monitoring of the project boundary activates automatically at registration (the platform's Continuous Monitoring Engine).
  3. A monitoring report per crediting period follows the Annex B template; quality assurance: independent control weighing of at least 10 % of events per period.

MOD-05 — Reporting

Sources: MCC-200 cl. 0028; Transparency Policy.

  1. Monitoring reports are delivered per issuance request and published in accordance with the Transparency Policy.
  2. Material deviations (loss of the documentation chain, events conflicting with safeguards) are reported to the registry without undue delay.

MOD-06 — Validation

Sources: MCC-400 VVB Standard v1.1 and Addendum 1; MCC-200 cl. 0029, 0077, 0086, 0102.

  1. Validation is performed by a VVB accredited under MCC-400 v1.1.
  2. Validation scope: PDD completeness, baseline/additionality, host-country compatibility (cl. 0086), double-counting prevention (cl. 0077) and E&S safeguards (cl. 0102).

MOD-07 — Verification

Sources: MCC-400 v1.1; MCC-200 cl. 0030.

  1. Verification per issuance request: the mass accounting, the documentation chain and the control weighings are examined before issuance.
  2. The verification report follows the applicable template; findings are handled through the registry's findings and resolution process.

MOD-08 — Permanence and Risk Management

Sources: MCC-100 cl. 0183.2; MCC-200 cl. 0031.2; Buffer Pool Management Policy v1.0.

  1. No permanence horizon applies: avoided degradation and harm from removed gear is a flow measure, not stored carbon.
  2. Risk management: the risk of re-loss is addressed by the required chain to final disposition (MOD-01 item 3b); a disposition that returns gear to the marine environment disqualifies the event.
  3. The buffer (MOD-03 item 4) covers quantification uncertainty, not reversal.

MOD-09 — Safeguards and Co-Benefits

Sources: MCC-200 cl. 0094, 0098; Environmental and Social Safeguards Policy v1.0; SD Contribution Framework v1.0; MCC-200 cl. 0062–0063.

  1. Family-specific safeguards (cl. 0098): technology safety in recovery operations, sound waste handling at final disposition, and community health.
  2. The ESS Policy v1.0 applies in full; the grievance mechanism is available to affected parties, and an open grievance blocks issuance.
  3. SDG indicators (minimum three, cl. 0062, each with baseline/target/measurement/frequency quantified in the PDD per cl. 0063):
    • SDG 14.1: mass of marine debris removed (kg; monthly).
    • SDG 12.5: share of recovered gear sent to material recycling or sound disposal (%; per period).
    • SDG 8.5: local employment in the recovery activity (person-days; per period).

MOD-10 — Registry and Claims

Sources: MCC-800 Registry Operations v1.1; Claims and Use of Credits Policy §4; Transparency Policy.

  1. Serialisation, accounts, transfers and retirement follow MCC-800.
  2. Permitted claims follow Claims Policy §4: the contribution basis. Offset, neutrality and net-zero claims are not permitted and are enforced in three layers, including the database trigger enforce_claim_language.
  3. All issuances, retirements and project data are published in the public register per the Transparency Policy.

Change log — v1.1 (1 Sep 2026): first consolidated methodology text, codifying the substance adopted with the 24 Aug 2026 approval (registry record v1.0). Adopted as editorial codification, FD-2026-09-01 D1; board ratification scheduled 23 Sep 2026.