Support Measures

Professional collection systems are needed: specialised motor vehicles/ boats, tailor made to collect waste at sea from aquaculture equipment and installation. Professional collection systems are needed: cleaning vessels could be a joint venture of several parties based on shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Such a joint venture will enable parties to gain scale efficiencies by combining assets and operations; sharing risk for major investments and to access skills and capabilities. Professional collection systems are needed: cleaning vessels should target locations near aquaculture installations with high concentrations of debris and plan cleaning activities especially after storms. The development of good weather forecasting and modelling of wave currents may support this purpose. Professional collection systems are needed: innovative passive catchers placed outside the farm (depending on currents). We need a point to collect waste in each harbour. In the framework of the new port reception facilities, this should be included. This complements the facilities offered by commercial equipment companies that provide a point of waste collection for member companies. A way to remove the collected litter from the marine environment would be to bring it to the harbor, weigh it and get a receipt depending on the collected weight. This would help to monitor how much litter is being collected and to encourage/facilitate the recycling, as it could be brought to, or picked up by, the waste manager directly.   A way to remove the collected litter from the marine environment would be to bring it to the harbor, weigh it and get a receipt depending on the collected weight. This would help to monitor how much litter is being collected and to encourage/facilitate the recycling, as it could be brought to, or picked up by, the waste manager directly. Cooperation in collecting waste with other offshore sectors or local associations Cooperation in collecting waste between several (large and small) aquaculture companies may be economically most beneficial to collect their recyclable waste and add it to their own waste streams. Large companies could take the lead, whereas small companies could pay a fee instead of doing the actual cleaning work Put in place various contractual agreements with external contractors to collect used or damaged goods (cardboards and equipment) to be recycled or upgraded Waste collection services should be better promoted and waste collection, sorting and recycling business models should be financially encouraged by governements. Aquaculture should not be singled out as an industry that needs special regulations when it comes to waste material (non-biological, construction, equipment, etc). There are many other small-scale industries with similar materials appearing from time to time or regularly as wastes, so disposal and recycling should be linked up, not to be costly only for the aquaculture (i.e. economies of scale). This would make the logistics for handling wastes more attractive for specialized companies. Introduction of a passport model to give value to material: gear and material should have a licence /Passport and when it is given away, the document accompanies it wherever it goes. Recycling rebate – Farmers/fishers pay levy when purchasing new nets and get money back when recycling. Worn out gear and other requipement collection and recycling services should be better promoted and the business models based on their recovery from the sea, upcycling and repurposing should be financially encouraged by governements.