Fishing nets and Oceanets Project
Prevent their loss and recycle those that are not used
The nets, being made of plastic materials, take 600 years to degrade and in this process they are transformed into microplastics, which are a very important source of pollution in all oceans.
In Europe and Latin America, the concern to solve the environmental problem generated by marine litter is beginning to be tangible, where the fishing industry is one of the main culprits.
Oceanets is a project for the prevention, recovery, reuse and recycling of fishing gear to obtain value-added products for the textile industry that arose from the need to prevent the loss of fishing equipment at sea, which in addition to the consequent loss economic means a negative environmental impact due to the production of plastic waste.
With a focus on supporting the circular economy, the Oceanets project aims to face this challenge by avoiding the loss of fishing gear, facilitating their recovery and recycling. "The consortium that directs the project saw the opportunity to act on two levels: prevention and recycling," remarks an article published by Europa Blava.
Oceanets promotes the objective "Zero Dumping" that seeks to reduce hooks and subsequent losses of fishing gear, partial or total, and that generate an increase in marine litter and ghost fishing.
Oceanets supported the development of a computerized tool that enables fishermen to both prevent the loss of fishing gear and recover those that are abandoned in the marine environment.
The program aims to promote the collection and use of disused, recyclable fishing nets and gear to generate new marketable products to avoid pollution of the seas.