Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s seafood development agency, and the Irish South and West Fishermen’s Producers Organisation (ISWFPO) have co-hosted a net management workshop in West Cork.
The day-long event held in Castletownbere aimed to track the journey of fishing gear from its initial entry into the market to its end of life. The workshop also looked at ways to better analyse and understand the source of marine litter brought ashore by the Irish catching fleet today.
As of October 2019, a total of 224 fishing vessels are registered to Fishing for Litter (FFL), a national programme where fishing vessels voluntarily take ashore all marine litter they collect during fishing activities. This programme forms part of the wider Clean Oceans Initiative and to date, 49 vessels from the port of Castletownbere, a fifth of the national fleet, are registered.
“The local determination to demonstrate their fishing gear management is outstanding," said Patrick Murphy, chief executive of ISWFPO. "Other key stakeholders such as the harbour management, net makers are also behind the objective and are keen to help communicate and validate the responsible approach taken by the large majority in Castletownbere."
BIM established the FFL programme in 2015, supported by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. The state agency has also been handling end of life gear aspects since 2006 and was recently appointed champion for four of the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations.
