Development, testing, validation, and optimization of biodegradable gear for fisheries and aquaculture

December 19th, 2023 | Research Area 3 – Gear development, tests, and demonstrations at sea

Jørgen Vollstad & Anja Helene Alvestad

SINTEF Ocean AS

Leaders Research Area 3, Gear development, tests, and demonstrations

This research area will develop, test, validate, and optimize biodegradable gear for specific applications in fisheries and aquaculture. The industry will need robust and convincing results before production, sales, and practical use (fishing) on a large scale can take place. Identification of accurate needs, development of products, and testing (documentation) is expected to take several years for each research area. Furthermore, a change from traditional to new biodegradable materials must include performance, catch pattern, and efficiency analyses (in the case of fishing gears) of existing and new technology. Sea trials will be conducted in Norway, Denmark, Germany, and Croatia. In Norway, sea trials will be carried out on board commercial fishing vessels.

The key research and development tasks are:

3.1: Multiple trials conducted on board commercial gillnetters to find a combination of strength/elasticity and catchability that is comparable to or better than existing nylon (PA) twines in gillnets (inshore and deep-sea gillnetting).

3.2: Develop pots and traps based on biodegradable materials targeting brown crab, snow crab, red king crab, and lobster, including recreational pot fisheries.

3.3: Develop biodegradable ropes and components for coastal and deep sea longlines.

3.4: Identify several possibilities for replacing polyethylene- (PE), nylon- (PA), and polyester- (PES) fibers with biodegradable fibers for use in twines, ropes, and netting.

3.5: Full-scale tests of dolly-ropes and chafing mats for use in demersal (bottom) trawling.

3.6: Develop an alternative to combination ropes (30–60 mm thick PE coating with steel-wire core) for demersal seining. Research show that today's rope loses almost a third of its mass as microplastics during its service time due to abrasion by the seabed.

Publications

Brinkhof, I., Herrmann, B., Larsen, R. B., Brinkhof, J., Grimaldo, E., Vollstad, J. (2023). Effect of gillnet twine thickness on capture pattern and efficiency in the Northeast-Arctic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 191, 114927.

Grimaldo, E., Karl, C. W., Alvestad, A., Persson, A-M., Kubowitcz, S., Olafsen, K., Hatlebrekke, H. H., Lilleng, G., Brinkhof, I. (2023). Reducing plastic pollution caused by demersal fisheries, Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Cerbule, K.; Herrmann, B.; Grimaldo, E.; Brinkhof, J.; Sistiaga, M.; Larsen, R.B.; Bak-Jensen, Z; (2023). Ghost fishing efficiency by lost, abandoned, or discarded pots in snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery. Marine Pollution Bulletin 193, 115249.

Cerbule, K., Herrmann, B., Trumbić, Ž., Petrić, M., Šifner, S. K., Grimaldo, E., Larsen, R.B., Brčić, J. (2023). Use of biodegradable materials to reduce marine plastic pollution in small scale coastal longline fisheries. Journal for Nature Conservation 74, 126438.

Cerbule, K., Savina, E., Herrmann, B., Larsen, R. B., Feekings, J. P., Krag, L. A. (2022). Quantification of catch composition in fisheries: A methodology and its application to compare biodegradable and nylon gillnets. Journal for Nature Conservation 2022.

Cerbule, K., Herrmann, B., Grimaldo, E., Larsen, R. B., Savina, E., Vollstad, J.: Comparison of the efficiency and modes of capture of biodegradable versus nylon gillnets in the Northeast Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery. Marine Pollution Bulletin 2022.

Cerbule, K., Grimaldo, E., Herrmann, B., Larsen, R. B., Brčić, J., Vollstad, J.: Can biodegradable materials reduce plastic pollution without decreasing catch efficiency in longline fishery? Marine Pollution Bulletin 2022.

Grimaldo, E., Herrmann, B., Jacques, N., Vollstad, J., Su, B. (2020). Effect of mechanical properties of monofilament twines on the catch efficiency of biodegradable gillnets. PLOSONE.