A collaboration between Cape Verde NGO Project Biodiversity and tech company Satlink aims to repurpose satellite buoys used in tropicla tuna fisheries in Atlantic waters to enhance shark monitoring, signal protected marine areas or promote on-board safety, among other potential uses.
Satlink’s Project ReCon is an international initiative set up in 2022 by Satlink with Australian NGO Tangaroa Blue Foundation, dedicated to the conservation of marine ecosystems and the protection of protected species and habitats. In addition to the latest location, Cape Verde, ReCon is already active in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, USA (Palmyra), Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia, making use of recovered buoys from the tropical tuna fishery.
‘By joining the project, we are not only contributing to prevent these devices from becoming technological waste as a result of ocean currents, but it will also also allow us to use reconditioned buoys to locate the scientific equipment we use in shark monitoring, or to help us promote the on-board safety of those fishing in the area, among other things,’ said Albert Taxonera, executive director of Project Biodiversity.
These buoys are fitted with echo sounders that detect the abundance of fish under the device, making them ideal for reuse in small-scale scientific studies, as well as marking and monitoring marine debris or preventing natural disasters.
‘We are excited to welcome our new local partner, Project Biodiversity, to ReCon. The conservation work, environmental awareness, and sustainability promotion that they undertake are entirely aligned with Satlink and our pioneering circular economy project, and we look forward to the challenges of reconditioning the buoys for potential new uses,’ commented Satlink’s director of science and sustainability Kathryn Gavira.
After taking its first steps in Australia with founding partner Tangaroa Blue Foundation, Project ReCon has become a collaboration with other environmental organisations such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and The Pacific Community (SPC). On the industry side, more than a hundred vessels from 22 companies and organisations, such as Albacora, Echebastar, Inpesca,
OPAGAC/AGAC, Sapmer, Bolton Food Group, Cape Fisheries, Caroline Fisheries Corporation, Trimarine, Oakcity Tuna Fishing Corporation, Hartswater, and US Pacific Tuna Group participate in the project.
