Norwegian recycler Nofir and Icelandic industry body Samtök fyrirtækja í sjávarútvegi (SFS) have struck an agreement for the recycling and further utilisation of fishing and aquaculture gear that has reached the end of its useful life.
Fishing gear suppliers in Iceland are providing reception facilities for worn-out gear. Users can deliver gear at no cost to Hampiðjan, Ísfell, Egersund, Veiðarfæragerð Skinneyar-Thinganess, Netaverkstæði G.Run or Veiðarfæraþjónustan, all of which will pack the gear into containers for shipping to Nofir.
‘We’re very pleased to have reached an agreement with SFS and to be assisting the Icelandic fishing industry, aquaculture sector and fishing gear suppliers in meeting their obligations concerning fishing gears made from plastic,’ said Øistein Aleksandersen, managing director of Nofir which is a leader in recycling fishing gear and already has a longstanding co-operation with Egersund to dispose of end-of-life fishing gear.
‘A similar arrangement will be in place in Norway in 2025. We have already received some containers from Iceland and look forward to ongoing co-operation.’
Nofir has taken delivery of around 56,000 tonnes of worn out fishing and aquaculture equipment from around the world since 2011.
According to SFS sustainability officer Hildur Hauksdóttir, the permits required to ship mixed materials to Nofir have been received, and there is no barrier to increasing the volumes of material for recycling.
