Joint efforts to keep over 50 tons of discarded fishing nets from entering the Peruvian sea

Posted on 18 February 2019

According to the FAO, fishing nets represent 10% of all marine waste.

Each year, between 640,000 and 800,000 tons of nets are abandoned in the ocean. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), it is estimated that 10% of all marine waste is made up of disused fishing nets, which are known as "ghost nets".
Currently, 45% of marine mammal species, 21% of seabirds and 100% of sea turtle species in the world, are affected by plastic pollution, according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Plastic pollution also generates negative consequences on fish and crustaceans intended for human consumption, causing a threat to global food security.
Faced with this problem, and to prevent more than 50 tons of disused fishing nets from contaminating the Peruvian sea, the Net Positiva Peruinitiative was created. It seeks to engage industrial and artisanal fishers in the recycling of fishing nets that have completed their life cycle, and thus prevent them from ending up at the bottom of the sea, becoming the most harmful form of contamination by plastic.
"Through Net Positiva Peru, WWF and Bureo will work together to ensure a new usage for the fishing gear at the end of its regular useful life, thanks to the support of the companies that today commit to donate them. In addition, we will motivate artisanal fishermen to also deliver the nets they no longer use, giving them compensation for each kilo collected, offering them an opportunity to turn this positive action into a business", said Aimée Leslie, Director of the WWF Peru Marine Program.
"Today we signed an agreement with three of the largest commercial fishing companies in Peru: Tasa, Copeinca and Austral. At Bureo, we are very excited to work with these companies and WWF in the recovery of raw materials, which would otherwise end at sea. We will use recovered nets to create new products such as clothing, household items, and toys", said Ben Kneppers, co-founder of Bureo. "In addition, today's companies will work with us to identify and support environmental education projects in fishing communities".
With this initiative WWF and Bureo seek to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans and achieve the global goal of zero plastics in nature by 2030, hand in hand with authorities, local organizations, groups of recyclers, women in the community, fishing landing sites, companies and other organizations.

About Bureo
Bureo is a certified B-Corp and member of the 1% for the Planet focused on creating positive solutions for discarded fishing nets. Through Bureo's Net Positivarecycling program, it works together with fishers to create a positive solution for fishing nets at the end of their useful life. It has presence in Chile and the United States (California) since 2013 and has recently expanded its program to Peru.

About WWF Peru
It is one of the largest and most experienced conservation organizations in the world. WWF was founded in 1961 and in Peru it began its work in 1969 when it contributed to the successful recovery of the vicuña, supporting the management of the Pampa Galeras National Reserve (region of Ayacucho). It has a global network that works in over 100 countries. Its mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which human beings live in harmony with nature, conserving global biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable and promoting the reduction of pollution and excessive consumption.

Joint efforts to keep over 50 tons of discarded fishing nets from entering the Peruvian sea

Share This!