SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — The University of Rhode Island (URI) announced Tuesday that it has received a $2.5 million grant from Ørsted to address the "ghost gear" discovered near the Revolution Wind project.

Revolution Wind, currently being constructed off the Providence coast by sustainable energy companies Ørsted and Eversource, aims to provide clean energy to Rhode Island and Connecticut. Officials said the wind farm is "the largest offshore wind supply chain investment in Rhode Island’s history."

URI College of Engineering Dean Anthony Marchese said they're partnering with Ørsted to minimize the environmental impact while maximizing the full potential of offshore wind.

The three-year grant will allow teams to survey and identify "ghost gear" hotspots, or spots on the ocean floor with abandoned fishing supplies including traps, nets and lines.

According to David Bethoney, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF), many fishermen are unable to properly remove and dispose of ghost gear due to time and safety obstacles.

Discarded fishing tools are described as one of the most harmful forms of marine debris, often entangling whales, dolphins and sea turtles.

Last year, CFRF removed roughly 4,000 pounds of ghost gear from Narragansett Bay, including over 100 lobster traps.

“This project and partnership is important because it will help us understand the relationship between offshore wind and ghost gear in waters off the coast of Rhode Island," Bethoney said. "Offshore turbine structures offer a new challenge in the accumulation and removal of ghost fishing gear within wind farm arrays."

Additionally, the project will address future work in turbine fields, assess the potential of remotely operated vehicles to monitor ghost gear and identify cost-effective image-based tools to detect it, according to a URI press release.

URI said the project will offer wind farm developers removal techniques and a better understanding of how ghost gear impacts the environment.