How much does fishing gear contribute to the environmental impacts of fisheries, and how does this picture change when plastic emissions and additional marine impact pathways are considered? These were among the questions addressed by Dsolve PhD researcher Mafalda Silva at the international LCA Food 2026 conference in Montréal, Canada.
As part of the session “Plastics in Food Systems”, Mafalda presented the study “Life cycle assessment of fishing gear used in the capture of Norwegian wild-caught cod and snow crab, with a focus on marine plastic emissions.”
The research examines the environmental impacts of fishing gear throughout its life cycle, from production and use to end-of-life management. Particular attention is given to plastic emissions occurring throughout the life cycle, including plastic emissions during fishing gear manufacturing, fishing operations (both documented gear losses and losses due to wear and tear) and associated with mismanaged plastic waste at end-of-life. While conventional life cycle assessments of fisheries often simplify or overlook the contribution of fishing gear, this study investigates its importance across different fishing systems and environmental impact categories.
The findings show that the contribution of fishing gear varies considerably across fishing systems and impact categories. Furthermore, including additional marine impact pathways, such as ghost fishing, entanglement, and biodiversity impacts associated with fish extraction, increased the estimated impacts on ecosystem quality damage by 4–14%, depending on the fishing system considered.
Beyond presenting the research, the conference provided a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, discuss methodological challenges, and connect with international researchers working on plastic pollution and LCA. “It was a great opportunity to share our research and exchange ideas with other researchers. Several discussions were particularly relevant to my PhD work within Dsolve, especially regarding how we can better account for plastic emissions and their environmental impacts in LCA,” says Mafalda.
These discussions will help inform her ongoing PhD research, which focuses on improving the characterization of fragmentation and degradation processes of conventional and biodegradable fishing gear plastics and their integration into life cycle impact assessment.
The 15.th international LCA Food 2026 Conference, took place in the midle of October, and focus on food production, processing and packaging for a healthy and sustainable world.
