About 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 – studies measurements and observations relating to scientific and commercial fishing gears, design and statistical methods and operations, and fish behaviour in relation to fishing.
This year’s meeting was hosted by the Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM) of the National Research Council (CNR). Over 130 participants from across all continents took part, including 50 attending for the first time — a promising sign for the future recruitment of researchers in fishing gear technology worldwide. A total of 51 high-quality presentations were delivered, with several speakers addressing the issue of marine litter and its harmful effects on ecosystems. The conference hall was also lined with 20 research posters, four of which were contributed by Dsolve
ICES/FAO WGFTFB chair and co-chairs
Paul Winger from the Fisheries and Marine Institute at Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada, and a member of Dsolve’s International Advisory Board, is one of the elected chairs of the ICES/FAO WGFTFB. He shares the leadership with Noëlle Yochum from Trident Seafoods Corporation, Seattle, USA, and Jon Lansley representing FAO in Rome, Italy. Also attending the meeting were Aida Campos (IPIMAR, Portugal) and Haraldur Einarsson (MFRI, Iceland), both members of Dsolve’s International Advisory Committee
The topics of Dsolve’s posters were as follows:
An introduction to SFI Dsolve, including a selection of references to research findings from our work packages.
Focus on lost fishing gear and data collection on fish and other marine life retrieved from recovered traps and gillnets.
The impacts of lost traps in the important snow crab fishery in the Barents Sea.
Results from experiments in longline fisheries comparing biodegradable snoods with conventional nylon snoods.
(See poster details at the end of the article)
Topic Group for Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (TG ALDFG)
Topic Group ALDFG was led by Maria Amparo Pérez Roda (FAO), Kelsey Richardson (FAO), Haraldur Einarsson (FAO/MFRI/Dsolve), Roger Larsen (UiT/Dsolve), and former Dsolve PhD student Kristine Cerbule (Heriot-Watt University). Participants also included PhD student Anja Alvestad (UiT/Dsolve), PhD student Dorian Vodopia (UiT/Dsolve), and BFE faculty technician Ivan Tatone. Dsolve's mandate in the group is to develop a guidance manual for preventing the loss of fishing gear. In addition to those already mentioned, Gokhan Gokce (Cukurova University, Turkey) and Daniel Stepputtis (Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, Germany) also took part.
TG ALDFG 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.
A description of the four Dsolve posters:
1. An introduction to SFI Dsolve, including a selection of references to research findings from our work packages.
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. Focus on lost fishing gear and data collection on fish and other marine life retrieved from recovered traps and gillnets.
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. The impacts of lost traps in the important snow crab fishery in the Barents Sea.
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. Results from experiments in longline fisheries comparing biodegradable snoods with conventional nylon snoods.
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