Support measures

Promote the "Fishing for Litter" initative and extend the idea to more ports in the sea region.

Support for waste management Support for waste management

Photo: Fishing for Litter Photo: Fishing for Litter

Relevant type of aquaculture:

Fish Shellfish Seaweed

Relevant sea basin:

Baltic

Relevant stage:

Removal and recycling

Related Barriers:

  • Some waste collection centres do not accept to take in the non-organic waste from shellfish producers. A common waste collection policy should be elaborated and enforced.

  • Market incentives for the effective participation in separate collection or for the return of special types of aquaculture gear (like cages) in the form of deposit return schemes are lacking.

  • There is a lack of waste management infrastructure with, e.g. insufficient opportunities to collect, sort and reuse waste in ports or other defined collection sites.

  • The cost of collection and transport of end-of-life aquaculture gear are yet not organised with the involvement of materials producers. At present that cost is mostly left to the ports– this is particularly relevant in a sector where both ports, and the farmers are often small-scale.

Related Good Practice:

R&R GP1.1

Fishing for Litter

"”Fishing for Litter” is recommended by HELCOM and national environmental agencies to stimulate fishermen to keep the fished litter on the vessel and to bring it to the shore with the aim to monitor the types of litter that are being fished. The project was developed by KIMO (Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation), an association of coastal local authorities whose goal is to eliminate pollution from the Northern Seas. The German NABU57 supports the collection, sorting and monitoring of waste in many Baltic Sea ports and fosters the involvement of fishermen in the initiative. So far, aquaculture farmers are not part of the project."