Responsibility measures

Use alternative natural materials instead of plastic wherever possible

Farmer/user responsibility Farmer/user responsibility

Relevant type of aquaculture:

Fish Shellfish Seaweed

Relevant sea basin:

North

Relevant stage:

Prevention and reduction

Related Barriers:

  • There is a lack of alternative materials for the aquaculture sector that have the same properties as what is currently used but don’t contain any plastics, e.g. for buoys.

  • Additional incentives from the government to invest in more durable materials and alternative solutions are lacking.

  • There is not enough knowledge on the existence of sustainable alternatives for aquaculture material.

  • At EU level, there is currently no accepted scientific standard (e.g. CEN) on marine biodegradability, which highlights the urgency for developing such a separate standard

Related Good Practice:

P&R GP4.1

Use of alternative natural materials instead of plastic

Since 2015, Mowi processing plant in Bruges, Belgium, has reduced the weight of MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) trays by 20%, which in turn has reduced plastic consumption by 96 tonnes per year. MAP trays are designed to keep food fresh. Similarly, Mowi has switched from using polystyrene boxes to Forest Stewardship Council approved cardboard boxes instead, which has further reduced their plastics use by 7 tonnes per year.