Spotlight on Plastic Fishing Gear – ECOS factsheet
By For European Maritime Day 2022, ECOS highlights that marine plastic litter should first and foremost be tackled at the source. Plastic fishing gear must become more circular and have a much lower environmental impact.
Marine plastic litter is a major global problem. Thanks to its strength, longevity and low cost, plastic has replaced natural materials in many sectors, and the global fishing industry is no exception. Small-scale nets, traps and buoys were traditionally made from natural plant fibres as well as materials such as cork. Nowadays, chemically treated plastics and metals have replaced these natural solutions. Approximately 10% of plastic leaking into our oceans each year comes from fishing gear, equivalent to 64 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. This puts our oceans at great risk.
Plastic is a persistent material, giving it an indefinite lifespan and wreaking havoc on the marine environment. The effects are truly devastating: plastic is responsible for smothering reefs and entangling species ranging from small fish to large cetaceans, turtles, and seabirds. Moreover, animals mistake smaller pieces for food, causing ingestion hazards. Plastic breaks down into microplastics, attracts toxins to their surface, and enters the marine, and human, food chain.
ECOS works to…
- Bring robust and mandatory policy solutions for fishing gear. It is essential that the design of fishing gear is improved, to extend its use phase, and ensure proper end-of-life treatment. This will help to reduce abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (‘Ghost Gear’).
- Contribute the highest level of expertise to the development of European standards on the circularity of fishing gear. The EU must ensure fishing gear is high on the policy agenda, and that policy solutions are easy to implement
by all stakeholders at all lifecycle stages. - Deliver expertise in circular business models. This enables fishing gear to retain value over a longer period of time through repair, repurposing, and eventually recycling into new products.
