Action 53: Fishing for Litter
Action Title: Strengthen the existing OSPAR recommendation 2010/19 on the reduction of marine litter through implementation of fishing for litter initiatives, including by reviewing the option that any vessel involved in the scheme can land non-operational waste at participating harbours in OSPAR countries.
Lead Party(ies): Netherlands, The United Kingdom and KIMO, with participation from Portugal
What is the issue?
The Fishing for Litter initiative was conceived by KIMO in 2002. After a successful pilot project in the Netherlands, the scheme was rolled out to other European countries and engagement has been growing steadily ever since. The objectives and aims of the scheme have gained the support of the fishing industry, port authorities and local authorities. It has been shown that the scheme can contribute to changing practices and culture within the fishing sector, provide a mechanism to remove marine litter from the sea and seabed, and raise awareness among the fishing industry, other sectors and the public. By tackling the problem at source through direct engagement with key stakeholders the scheme also prevents more litter reaching the marine environment.
What has OSPAR Done?
At the 2010 OSPAR Ministerial Meeting in Bergen, Ministers agreed to Recommendation 2010/19 on the reduction of marine litter through the implementation of fishing for litter activities which has been reflected both in OSPAR’s first Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter and in the second version, revised in line with the North East Atlantic Environment Strategy 2020-2030.
An overview and assessment of the implementation of Fishing for Litter was made in 2014 and followed up with a recommendation on the reduction of marine litter through strengthening or implementing these schemes.
KIMO’s Fishing for Litter project guidelines were adopted by OSPAR at EIHA 2017 as a model for implementation of the scheme throughout the OSPAR maritime area.
OSPAR 2019 adopted the following target for this action, with a baseline year of 2017: “To increase the total number of vessels participating in FFL schemes in the OSPAR maritime area by 100% by 2021, compared to the baseline situation in 2017”.
There has been an increase in the number of vessels participating in the scheme.
Final outputs and published reports
ACTION COMPLETED
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An OSPAR Recommendation 2016/01 on the reduction of marine litter through the implementation of fishing for litter initiatives, and corresponding guidelines.
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OSPAR 2019 adopted the following target for this action, with a baseline year of 2017:
To increase the total number of vessels participating in FFL schemes in the OSPAR maritime area by 100% by 2021, compared to the baseline situation in 2017.
