Supporting Recycling of EOL Fishing Gear
To prevent the end-of-life fishing gear from becoming a hazard for the marine environment, they should be collected as they approach their best-before date. The EU funded Blue Circular Nets (CIRCNETS) project supports collecting and recycling of end-of life fishing gear.
The issue
The two main sources of marine plastic pollution are single-use plastic products (SUP) and fishing gear. Plastic is durable, it can take a lot of beating, and it is affordable. Unfortunately, the good qualities of this material in fishing gear are also its vices from the environmental point of view. Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gears (ALDFGs) are a real nuisance for the marine environment. After becoming ghost gear, they can continue to catch fish and other animals, get caught in propellers, and decompose slowly spreading microplastics.
Collection of EOL fishing gear
Since we cannot easily replace the plastics in the fishing gear with more sustainable materials, this problem must be addressed in another way. The EU has introduced the SUP directive, which addresses single-use plastic products and fishing gear. The SUP directive requires that extended producer responsibility (EPR) expands to cover fishing gear. This means that producers and importers of fishing gear must organise and fund separate collection of end-of-life (EOL) fishing gear. When a fishing gear that includes plastic, be it a net, fishing rod, or anything else, is no longer useful for its owner and becomes thrash, the gear can be returned to a collection point free of charge. The extended producer organisation, meaning the producers and importers of fishing gear, have set up the collection system that provides an easy way for fishers to get rid of their EOL fishing gear. The collection system ensures that fishing gear will not end up in nature.
Challenges we tackle
Long distances and lack of critical mass are the key challenges for organising waste management in many parts of the northern, peripheral, and sparsely populated areas of Europe. This is highlighted even more in the case of EOL fishing gear. In CIRCNETS, we will examine solutions from other regions to find out how collection can be organised regionally in the most efficient and economical way. This system must also adhere to the “do no significant harm” principle. Along with preventing marine plastic pollution, the collection of fishing gear opens up a possibility of proceeding towards a more circular economy. CIRCNETS will also find out how the collected materials can be recycled.
Our activities and objectives
The overall objective of CIRCNETS is to draft a blueprint for the collection, treatment, and recycling of EOL fishing gear in the NPA region. The project will reach this goal through the following steps.
Analysis of fishing gear volumes, collection responsibilities and collection practices in NPA ports
Finding out of the status quo is the aim of this activity. This includes the overall fishing gear volumes that are in use in the NPA countries, collected EOL fishing gear volumes, and the EOL fishing gear collection responsibilities and practices in the NPA area.
NPA marine plastic mitigation model (collection, treatment, reuse)
What can be done with collected EOL fishing gear? This means analysing the current disposal systems, end of waste criteria, economic potential, and emerging technologies for EOL fishing gear utilisation.
Implementation of EPR for EOL fishing gear in NPA countries
This activity focuses on analysing other extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes and drafting plans on how these best practices could be implemented in the fishing gear sector.
Key abbreviations
SUP: single-use plastic
EPR: extended producer responsibility
EOL: end-of-life
ALDFGs: abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear, also known as ghost gear
Project outputs and results
We will publish the main findings and results of the CIRCNETS project in multiple written reports. Check these out from the Outputs and Results site. Check out also the Resources site for our newsletters and presentations.
Outputs & Results
Project duration and budget
The Blue Circular Nets (CIRCNETS) project is running from the 1st of January 2023 to the 31st of December 2025.
Total budget
1.499.969,46 EUR
EU funding
928.180,80 EUR