Waste minimisation in fishing operations
Waste minimisation in fishing operations
Date
2012
Authors
Boopendranath, M.R.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Society of Fisheries Technologists (India), Cochin
Abstract
Sources of wastes in fishing operations mainly
include bycatch discards; processing wastes where
catch is processed onboard; plastic wastes due to
abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear; bilges
and other wastes from the vessel operations. Fishing
systems in general have an associated catch of nontargeted
organisms known as bycatch. Non-selective
fishing gear that is not modified or equipped to
exclude non-targeted organisms, may take a significant
quantity of bycatch of non-targeted finfish,
juvenile fish, benthic animals, marine mammals,
marine birds and vulnerable or endangered species
that are often discarded. Average annual global
discards, has been estimated to be 7.3 million t,
based on a weighted discard rate of 8%, during
1992-2001 period. Trawl fisheries for shrimp and
demersal finfish account for over 50% of the total
estimated global discards. Plastic materials are
extensively used in fisheries, owing to their durability
and other desirable properties, contributing to
the efficiency and catchability of the fishing gear.
However, plastics biodegrade at an extremely slow
rate compared to other organic materials. Abandoned,
lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear
(ALDFG) and related marine debris have been
recognized as a critical problem in the marine
environment and for living marine resources.
Prevention of excess fishing capacity by appropriate
management measures could lead to enormous
savings in terms of fuel consumption, emissions and
bycatch discards from the excess fishing fleet, capital
and operational investments and labour deployment
in capture fisheries, with significant economic gains.
In this paper, wastes originating from fishing
operations are reviewed, along with their environmental
impacts and possible mitigation measures.
Description
Keywords
Capture fisheries, bycatch discards, bycatch reduction technologies, plastic wastes, garbage, engine emissions, waste minimization
Citation
Fishery Technology 2012: 49(2), 109-119