Om ICES/FAO WGFTFB
WGFTFB – Working Group on Fishing Gear Technology and Fish Behaviour, Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea – studerer målinger og observasjoner knyttet til vitenskapelige og kommersielle fiskeredskaper, deres utforming, statistiske metoder og operasjoner, samt fiskeatferd i relasjon til fiske.
Vertskap for årets møte var Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM) of the National Research Council (CNR). Mer enn 130 deltakere fra alle kontinenter deltok denne gangen, hvorav 50 deltok for første gang. Dette lover godt for framtidig rekruttering til forskning på fangstmetodikk i verdens fiskerier. Det var til sammen 51 gode presentasjoner, og flere foredragsholdere hadde marin forsøpling og de negative konsekvenser dette har på økosystemet som tema. I tillegg var veggene i konferansehallen dekket av 20 forskningsplakater, hvorav fire var tilknyttet Dsolve.
Styreledere i ICES/FAO WGFTFB
Paul Winger fra Fisheries and Marine Institute ved Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada og medlem av den internasjonale rådgivnings komitéen i Dsolve, er en av de valgte lederne til ICES/FAO WGFTFB. Han deler oppdraget sammen med Noëlle Yochum fra Trident Seafoods Corporation, Seattle USA og Jon Lansley som representerer FAO, Roma, Italia. På møtet deltok også Aida Campos (IPIMAR, Portugal) og Haraldur Einarsson (MFRI, Island), som begge er medlemmer av det internasjonale rådgivningsorganet i Dsolve.
Temaene på Dsolve sine plakater var:
Presentasjon av SFI Dsolve med et utvalg av referanser til forskningsresultater fra arbeidspakkene våre.
Fokus på tapte fiskeredskaper og innsamling av data på fisk og annet marint liv fra gjenfangst av teiner og garn.
Effektene av tapte teiner i det viktige snøkrabbe-fisket i Barentshavet.
Resultater fra forsøk i linefisket med bionedbrytbare forsyn som ble sammenlignet med ordinære forsyn av nylon.
(Se beskrivelse av hver av plakatene nederst i artikkelen)
Temagruppen for tapte fiskeredskaper
Temagruppen for tapte fiskeredskaper (TG ALDFG - Topic Group for Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear) ble ledet av Maria Amparo Pérez Roda (FAO), Kelsey Richardson (FAO), Haraldur Einarsson (FAO/MFRI/Dsolve), Roger Larsen (UiT/Dsolve) og tidligere PhD student i Dsolve Kristine Cerbule (Heriot Watt University). I denne gruppen deltok også PhD student Anja Alvestad (UiT/Dsolve), PhD student Dorian Vodopia (UiT/Dsolve) og BFE-fakultetets tekniker Ivan Tatone. Dsolve sitt mandat er å utarbeide en rådgivningsmanual for å unngå tap av fiskeredskaper. I tillegg til allerede nevnte personer, deltok også Gokhan Gokce (Cukurova University, Tyrkia) og Daniel Stepputtis (Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Tyskland).
TG ALDFG sitt mandat (Terms of reference)
– Review and summarize current and past work to redesign and modify gears to reduce ghostfishing.
– Review and summarize current and past work to redesign and modify gears to increase the overall circularity of gears and the potential for repurposing and recycling.
– Investigate and summarize gear marking technologies.
– Develop a guide that outlines essential safety requirements to prevent a loss of fishing gear.
– Seek synergies with the Indicators TG around identifying and developing ALDFG-related indicators that can be used to guide the analysis of the data collected from the FAO Global ALDFG surveys. The indicators should be designed to meaningfully inform fisheries management policies and interventions designed to prevent and reduce ALDFG.
Under følger en beskrivelse av Dsolve sine fire plakater:
1. Presentasjon av SFI Dsolve med et utvalg av referanser til forskningsresultater fra arbeidspakkene våre.
Abstract: Dsolve (2020-2028) is a centre for research-based innovation - development of biodegradable materials for applications in fisheries and aquaculture. Our research aims to reduce plastic litter and associated problems such as ghost fishing, macro and microplastic caused by the fishery and aquaculture industries. The goal is that new biodegradable materials can replace traditional plastics in these sectors. Dsolve is divided into six research areas led by national research partners UiT Arctic University of Norway, Norner AS, SINTEF Industry, SINTEF Ocean, Norsus AS and SALT Lofoten AS/UiT. The centre include research from DTU Aqua (Denmark), Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries (Germany) and the University of Split (Croatia). Dsolve involves 18 industry partners, several NGO’s, public organisations and research institutions. The conceptual structure of Dsolve is: Product-orientated areas represent a value-chain perspective, while policy goals connect to the total value-chain. The iteration processes for research and development constitute a stepwise approach, from basic research to full-scale testing of prototype applications.
Contact: roger.larsen@uit.no
2. Fokus på tapte fiskeredskaper og innsamling av data på fisk og annet marint liv fra gjenfangst av teiner og garn.
Abstract: Norwegian waters and the Northern Adriatic Sea, renowned for their fisheries-related economic importance and biodiversity, are impacted by ghost fishing, the capture of marine life by abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). However, comprehensive data on ghost fishing catches in these regions remains scarce. To address this knowledge gap in Norwegian waters, we analysed six years (2018-2023) of ALDFG retrieval data and two in-situ ghost fishing trials from 2000-2001 and 2022. An additional in-situ ghost fishing trial was conducted between December 2023 and April 2024 in the Northern Adriatic Sea. Yearly reported gillnet losses captured approximately 3000 tons of fish and scavenging invertebrates in Norwegian waters, while pre-escape mechanism king crab and snow crab pots caught over 70 tons of crabs. Ghost fishing catch in derelict king crab pots was notably reduced by escape mechanisms. During the 133-day trial period in the Northern Adriatic Sea, derelict gillnets caught 151 kg / ALDFG unit, while fish traps caught 4 kg / ALDFG unit, both primarily affecting fish and scavenging invertebrates. Annual losses of gillnets and fish traps in the Northern Adriatic Sea remain unknown, preventing estimation of the total yearly ghost fishing catch from these gear types. While derelict fishing gear primarily caught commercial species, it also affected cetaceans, elasmobranchs, and a pinniped species in Norwegian waters, as well as elasmobranchs and a seabird species in the Northern Adriatic Sea. These results underscore the significant impact of ghost fishing in Norwegian and Northern Adriatic marine environments, along with the effectiveness of escape mechanisms in reducing ghost fishing catches in derelict pots.
Contact: dorian.vodopia@uit.no
3. Effektene av tapte teiner i det viktige snøkrabbe-fisket i Barentshavet.
Abstract: Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) is considered an invasive species in the Barents Sea with first observations dating back to 1996. The Norwegian commercial fishery for snow crab has been increasing since it first commenced in 2012. This fishery adopted conical baited pots, similar to other fisheries targeting snow crab. During the last decade, different management measures have been implemented to ensure sustainability in this relatively new fishery. One central challenge is pot loss during deployment caused by challenging weather and operational conditions. Lost snow crab pots can have a considerable potential for continuous capture of crabs, so-called “ghost fishing” which has been documented during lost gear retrieval and experimental trials. This study considered different scenarios of snow crab pot losses and associated economic implications. The results show that given the substantial number of pots used on snow crab fishing vessels, even small variations in pot loss rates (0.5 – 3.0% pot loss) can result in considerable differences in ghost fishing and associated environmental and economic effects. The estimated ghost fishing in this study ranged from 11.5 to almost 70 thousand kg ghost fished crabs during a 3-year period assuming 0.5 – 3.0% pot loss scenarios, resulting in significant differences in ghost fishing expressed in amount of snow crab and value of ghost fished catch. These results highlight the importance of all incentives and technical measures that can reduce pot losses and associated ghost fishing time.
Contact: K.Cerbule@hw.ac.uk
4. Resultater fra forsøk i linefisket med bionedbrytbare forsyn som ble sammenlignet med ordinære forsyn av nylon.
Abstract: Longline fishing has long tradition in global fisheries, and it is considered an environmentally friendly fishing method with a relatively low carbon footprint, supporting economic activity in coastal communities. Modern longline fisheries contribute to marine pollution through loss of plastic-based components, particularly branch lines (snoods) and connecting ropes between line-sections used in mechanised longline fishing (autoline). These components, typically made from polyester (PES) and nylon (PA), degrade slowly in the marine environment. In Norwegian longline fisheries alone, several hundred kilometres of snoods are replaced annually due to damage, wear and tear. Lost or discarded snoods, and cut-offs from ropes connecting line-sections, entering the marine environment eventually degrade to micro plastics, contributing to pollution of the food-web contradicting the perception of longline fishing as an environmentally responsible practice. To uphold the industry's reputation and sustainability, there is a pressing need to develop alternative materials reducing plastic pollution. The primary goal is to create, evaluate, and refine alternative materials for snoods in coastal and deep-sea mechanized fisheries and optimising their mechanical properties to ensure they match conventional PES and PA snoods. The research follows a systematic approach, including material development, laboratory testing including measurements of abrasion resistance and tensile strength, and full-scale field trials.
Contact: anja.alvestad@sintef.no