Combining research and industry expertise from across Europe, the EU-funded SEARCULAR project is trialling circular fishing gear solutions, which, if scaled up, could prevent thousands of tonnes of marine plastic ending up in the ocean each year, while also supporting sustainable fisheries.
Led by Spanish research institute AZTI and involving 13 European industry specialists and research organisations, SEARCULAR is working in close collaboration with the fishing industry to develop and test innovative fishing gear solutions with the potential to reduce the amount of marine litter and microplastics generated by Europe’s fishing industry.
Several related policy initiatives and EU directives – including the European Green Deal, Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, and Port Reception Facilities (PRF) Directive – include targets aimed at addressing marine plastics, including end-of-life fishing gear.
SEARCULAR is trialling tailored solutions involving the development of more sustainable fishing gear materials, alongside end-of-life fishing gear and port-based measures to tackle this issue at source.
If rolled out, together these would extend the life-cycle of fishing gear, prevent significant quantities of plastics entering the sea each year, and at the same time generate new material streams from old gears, facilitating the development of a circular economy for fishing gear.
‘SEARCULAR’s solutions will facilitate the reduction of the fishing industry’s contribution to marine litter and microplastics by enabling the implementation of innovative, circular approaches to gear production, use and end-of-life management,’ said AZTI’s Oihane C.Basurko, the SEARCULAR project coordinator.
‘Working with industry partners and stakeholders is a key element to this, and will ensure the project delivers practical solutions that work for the marine environment, and fishers across Europe.’
Because there is no one-size-all when it comes to fishing, SEARCULAR is trialling an array of solutions to tackle these issues, tailored to the needs of different fisheries, net types, and different stages of the gear lifecycle.
Among the technical solutions being developed, repurposed end-of-life purse seine nets used in tropical tuna fisheries are being used to develop more durable dolly ropes for trawl nets. Harsh marine environments and close contact with the seabed means traditional dolly ropes used on trawl nets fray easily and have a limited lifespan. Giving old gear a new lease of life, the new ropes will be more durable, reducing the amount of marine plastic generated at sea and number of nets discarded in ports.
Seine ropes are also subject to high abrasion and wearing. As part of its efforts, SEARCULAR is developing ‘bio-seine’ rope which will be not only three times more resistant than the traditional materials used to manufacture these ropes but also biodegradable.
Conversely, where durability is problematic, new designs of biodegradable Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) used to attract fish in purse seine tuna fisheries are being tested as a means to prevent the accumulation of plastic based FADs in sensitive marine habitats.
On shore, SEARCULAR is developing solutions in support of the sustainable management of fishing gear at ports. Though compulsory in the EU, issues relating to sorting and logistics means that much of the gear collected at ports still ends up in landfill or incinerators. Aiming to address this, SEARCULAR is working to improve capacity for management of end-of-life fishing gears by trialling a replicable Blue Point for gear collection, sorting and conditioning, which will encompass guidance on recirculation of material.
‘Clean seas and healthy marine environments are crucial to our livelihoods at sea, as fishermen. It is of great importance to us as fishers that we are able to switch to biodegradable seine ropes and help decrease the microplastics released from conventional ropes,’ commented Rune Sand, skipper of Fortuna.
‘Fishers have unique knowledge to contribute, which is why we are working closely with SEARCULAR to develop practical solutions that we can adopt onboard- as a Seine fisher I am keen to help overcome the problem of plastic pollution and keep the industry at sea.’
As part of the three-year project, fishers, gear manufacturers, and researchers are working together to implement end-of-life solutions for old gear, and develop practical but innovative materials appropriate to the challenging environments they must withstand.
