2023-12-01-accounts - Fathoms Free

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	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	Trustees' Annual Report	for theperiod	for theperiod	for theperiod	for theperiod
	From	Period start date				T o	Period end date
		02	12		2022		01	12		2023

Section A		Reference and administration details

	Charity name			FATHOMS FREE

Other names charity is known by				N/A

Registered charity number(if any)				1196183

Charity's principal address				16 LOWER CLICKER ROAD,
				MENHENIOT
				LISKEARD
				Postcode					PL14 3PJ

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year
John Kent	Chair of Trustees
Julian Collison	Treasurer
Luke Bullus	DivingOfficer
Eleanor Speirs	Secretary
















Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)
Name		Dates acted if not for whole year

1 6th September 2024

TAR

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser	Name Address	Name Address




Name of chief executive	or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Constitution Type of governing document (eg. trust deed, constitution) CIO How the charity is constituted (eg. trust, association, company) Appointed on initial creation of charity - any changes by election Trustee selection methods (eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

Written Risk assessments in place for diving activities and boat You may choose to include usage with site and conditions specific risk assessments completed additional information, where at each event. relevant, about: All personnel suitably trained and qualified for the activities they are engaged in. ● policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees; ● the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works; ● relationship with any related parties; ● trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

Section C Objectives and activities

To preserve and improve the marine environment around the coast Summary of the objects of the of the United Kingdom & to to conserve, relieve the suffering of and charity set out in its promote the bio-diversity of marine wildlife with the use of volunteer governing document divers and surface supporters by, but not limited to: 1. Locating, documenting, retrieving and responsibly disposing of Abandoned, Discarded and Lost Fishing Gear (also known as Ghost Gear), releasing and where possible returning entrapped marine wildlife to its natural habitat.

2 6th September 2024

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Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)	2. Locating, documenting, retrieving and responsibly disposing of underwater, floating and coastal marine litter, focussing on but not limited to Marine Plastics 3. Supporting the local resident population, the significant coastal tourism industry and the resident fishing communities by minimising the litter and ghost gear hazards to make the beaches and coastal seas a safer place to enjoy and minimising unnecessary damage to local fish stocks killed by ghost gear. 4. Collecting and distributing data on the distribution, nature and quantity of marine litter and ghost fishing gear and its environmental impacts 5. Spreading awareness of the presence of underwater marine litter and ghost fishing gear along with the environmental threats it poses 6. Educating water users and the public so as to reduce the input of debris to the sea
	*Our activities for the reporting period can be summarised into three* *categories.* 1. *Retrieval - Retrieving matter from the sea which shouldn’t be* *there, this is our raison d’etre. This was most often done by diving* *but there was a significant quantity of recovery from beaches.* 2. *Awareness - We took multiple opportunities to inform the* *public of the very serious matter of ghost nets and marine litter. This* *was done by talks, meeting the public at awareness events, social* *media and mainstream media eg. TV news. If we can educate people* *to prevent marine pollution then it makes our retrieval job less* *arduous. A little known fact is that 75% of marine litter starts on land* *as street litter, reaching the sea via drains and rivers.* 3. *Maintenance, training and fund raising - These activities are* *the enabler for the 2 above. The divers become maintenance* *personnel or teachers/students for these activities. The maintenance* *work covered work on; a boat, a boat trailer, a truck, navigation* *equipment and dive gear. One of our number has attended a* *specialist dive course and she will then train the rest of the team* *with her new skills. Our fund-raising is dependent upon our* *exposure in various media forms, without funds no recoveries would* *take place. We have a website and an integral shop. Many of the* *goods in the shop are made by our volunteers from recovered ghost* *nets and ropes. We have also invested this year in out own scuba* *diving compressor and bank cylinders for the generation and* *storage of diving gas (air and Nitrox). It has become sadly very clear* *that dive centres are becoming few and far between and that the* *logistical challenges of getting cylinder fills before and between* *dives is becoming significant. To enable us to operate reliably and* *to maintain a swift response to reports of ghost gear made to us, teh* *trustees agreed to purchase, commission and maintain our own* *filling station. This has already proved extremely useful to the* *charity.*

Summary of the main
activities undertaken for the
public benefit in relation to
these objects (include within
this section the statutory
declaration that trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit)

2. Locating, documenting, retrieving and responsibly disposing of
underwater, floating and coastal marine litter, focussing on but not
limited to Marine Plastics
3. Supporting the local resident population, the significant coastal
tourism industry and the resident fishing communities by
minimising the litter and ghost gear hazards to make the beaches
and coastal seas a safer place to enjoy and minimising unnecessary
damage to local fish stocks killed by ghost gear.
4. Collecting and distributing data on the distribution, nature and
quantity of marine litter and ghost fishing gear and its environmental
impacts
5. Spreading awareness of the presence of underwater marine litter
and ghost fishing gear along with the environmental threats it poses
6. Educating water users and the public so as to reduce the input of
debris to the sea

Our activities for the reporting period can be summarised into three
categories.
1.
Retrieval - Retrieving matter from the sea which shouldn’t be
there, this is our raison d’etre. This was most often done by diving
but there was a significant quantity of recovery from beaches.
2.
Awareness - We took multiple opportunities to inform the
public of the very serious matter of ghost nets and marine litter. This
was done by talks, meeting the public at awareness events, social
media and mainstream media eg. TV news. If we can educate people
to prevent marine pollution then it makes our retrieval job less
arduous. A little known fact is that 75% of marine litter starts on land
as street litter, reaching the sea via drains and rivers.
3.
Maintenance, training and fund raising - These activities are
the enabler for the 2 above. The divers become maintenance
personnel or teachers/students for these activities. The maintenance
work covered work on; a boat, a boat trailer, a truck, navigation
equipment and dive gear. One of our number has attended a
specialist dive course and she will then train the rest of the team
with her new skills. Our fund-raising is dependent upon our
exposure in various media forms, without funds no recoveries would
take place. We have a website and an integral shop. Many of the
goods in the shop are made by our volunteers from recovered ghost
nets and ropes. We have also invested this year in out own scuba
diving compressor and bank cylinders for the generation and
storage of diving gas (air and Nitrox). It has become sadly very clear
that dive centres are becoming few and far between and that the
logistical challenges of getting cylinder fills before and between
dives is becoming significant. To enable us to operate reliably and
to maintain a swift response to reports of ghost gear made to us, teh
trustees agreed to purchase, commission and maintain our own
filling station. This has already proved extremely useful to the
charity.

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

3 6th September 2024

TAR

All persons engaged with Fathoms Free are volunteers ,including the trustees. The charity has no paid staff.

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about: ● policy on grantmaking; ● policy programme related investment; ● contribution made by volunteers.

Section D Achievements and performance

4 6th September 2024

TAR

Summary of the main achievements of the charity during the year

Last year the Fathoms Free team recovered 1100 kg of marine debris from the seas around Devon and Cornwall. This activity took 350 man hours, in direct effort. This recovery was accomplished during 6 dives and 6 beach recoveries.

During the same year, severaL awareness events were undertaken, this included a Radio news item and participation in the Cornwall Wildlife Trusts Your Shore Conference.

We were also an active participant in the Lostwithiel Environmental Action Forum, to highlight how abandoned fishing gear and other debris becomes a marine issue locally and hence the need for our work.

Our funding has been secured for the forthcoming year by donations from both personal and corporate donors and the sale of goods in our online shop.

This was augmented over the Christmas period when a Crowdfunding campaign secured match funding from the Cornwall Council Grow Nature Fund.

Section E Financial review

5 6th September 2024

TAR

Brief statement of the charity’s policy on reserves Details of any funds materially in deficit Further financial review details Youmay chooseto include additional information, where relevant about: ● the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising); ● how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity; ● investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.	The charity does not currently have a policy on reserves since it was created from very humble beginnings. The trustees realise that the charity is growing and whilst at the moment it is in a comfortable financial position, the trustees will during the next financial year develop a reserves policy in order to prepare for unexpected and schedules repairs or replacement to key assets, namely the boats (Casper & Shadow) and pickup truck
	There are no funds in deficit
	(Optional information)
	The charity, in common with others operating in the same conservation arena, does not receive any government funding and relies on the generous donation of members of the public and corporate donors. The charity does not currently have an investment policy - monies raised are used to fund ghost gear recoveries including charter boat hire where necessary, fuel and maintenance of charity assets and maintaining a balance available for repairs as and when necessary. The funds of the charities are fairly modest, having raised £16717 in the last financial year (2nd December 2022 to 1st December 2023). Of these £7662 were raised by personal donations, £822 by corporate donation, £6690 from grant funding (including match funding), £1510 from Gift Aid and £33 from the online shop. Expenditure for the year was £19472 with the largest expense being £5042 on boat, trailer and truck maintenance, followed by £3901 on the purchase and setup of the gas system which allows us to fill dive cylinders without travelling to dive centres which are getting fewer and farther apart.. All expenditure has been directly connected to the ongoing objects of the charity, particularly the ghost gear recovery.

Section F	Other optional information

Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

TAR 6 6th September 2024

Signature(s) Julian Collison Full name(s) John Kent Position (eg Secretary, Chair, etc) Chair Treasurer Date 06/09//24

7 6th September 2024

TAR

Charity Name No (if any) Fathoms Free 1192613 Receieceiipts andndd mentsentsntsts accountsntsts CC16a

Receieceiipts andndd paymentsentsntsts accountsntsts

For the period Period start date Period end date To from 02/12/2022 01/12/2023

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £

A1 Receipts

A1 Receipts	to the nearest £	to the nearest £		to the nearest £		to the nearest £	to the nearest £
Personal Donations	7662	-		-		7,662	5,623
Company ./ Sponsor Donations	822	-		-		822	8,513
Sales of items in web shop	33	-		-		33	71
HMRC Gift Aid Payments	1,510	-		-		1,510	1,753
Grantpayments	6,690	-		-		6,690	-
	-	-		-		-	-
	-	-		-		-	-
	-	-		-		-	-
*Sub total*(Gross income for AR)	16,717	-		-		16,717	15,960
A2 Asset and investment sales,
(see table).
NONE	-		-		-	-
	-		-		-	-	-
*Sub total*	-		-		-	-	-

**Total receipts **	16,717		-		-	16,717	15,960

A3 Payments	1,560 660 1,866 5,042 1,513 2,936 3,901	- - - - - - -	- - - - - - -	1,560 660 1,866 5,042 1,513 2,936 3,901
Boat, Truck & Trailer Storage	1,560	-	-	1,560	1,395
Hardboat charter	660	-	-	660	2,475
Insurance & Vehicle Tax	1,866	-	-	1,866	1,776
Truck & Boat repair & upgrades	5,042	-	-	5,042	6,257
Fuel	1,513	-	-	1,513	1,469
Gear recovery equipment	2,936	-	-	2,936	1,903
Gas system	3,901	-	-	3,901	-

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

22/08/2024

Training	1,389		-		-		1,389		-
Charity admin(website etc)	605		-		-		605		472
**Sub total **	19,472		-		-		19,472		15,747

Charity admin(website etc) **Sub total **	605 19,472	- -	- -		605 19,472	472 15,747
A4 Asset and investment
purchases, (see table)
NONE	-	-		-	-
	-	-		-	-
**Sub total **	-	-		-	-	-

*Total payments*	19,472	-		-	19,472	15,747
*Net of receipts/(payments)*	- 2,755	-		-	- 2,755	213
A5 Transfers between funds	-	-	-		-	-
A6 Cash funds last year end	19,932	-	-		19,932	19,719
*Cash funds this year end*	17,177	-		-	17,177	19,932

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

NONE NatWest Bank Account Details Details PayPal Account *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Soldo prepaid debit card balance	Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 16,490 687 - 17,177 OK Unrestricted funds to nearest £ - - -	Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - - -	Endowment funds to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
			OK
			Endowment funds to nearest £
NONE	-	-	-
	-	-	-
	-	-	-

B1 Cash funds

B2 Other monetary assets

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

22/08/2024

-		-		-
-		-		-
-		-		-

B3 Investment assets

B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use

B5 Liabilities

NONE Details	Cost (optional) - - - - -	Current value (optional)
NONE	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-
	-	-

6.5m Humber RHIB with engine,trailer & electronics Mitsubishi L200 Pickup Truck Twin axle van trailer Gazebo & display equipment Details Ghost gear recovery equipment Compressor and gas filling panel	Fund to which asset belongs Unrestricted	Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - -	Current value (optional)
6.5m Humber RHIB with engine,trailer & electronics	Unrestricted	-	14,000
Mitsubishi L200 Pickup Truck		-	7,000
Twin axle van trailer		-	1,000
Gazebo & display equipment		-	2,500
Ghost gear recovery equipment		-	6,000
Compressor and gas filling panel		-	4,500
		-	-
		-	-
		-	-

Details None	Fund to which liability relates	Amount due (optional) - - - -	When due (optional)
None		-
		-
		-
		-

CCXX R3 accounts (SS)

22/08/2024

Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees


Signature	Print Name	Date of approval
	Julian Collison (Treasurer)	21/01/2024
	John Kent (Chair)	21/01/2024

CCXX R4 accounts (SS)

22/08/2024