Preventing, avoiding and mitigating environmental impacts of fishing gears and associated marine litter

Projektinformationen

NETTAGPlus

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 101112812

DOI

10.3030/101112812

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 21 Mai 2023

Startdatum 1 Mai 2023

Enddatum 30 April 2026

Finanziert unter

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Gesamtkosten

€ 2 316 573,75

EU-Beitrag

€ 2 177 673,75

Koordiniert durch

CENTRO INTERDISCIPLINAR DE INVESTIGACAO MARINHA E AMBIENTAL
Portugal

CORDIS bietet Links zu öffentlichen Ergebnissen und Veröffentlichungen von HORIZONT-Projekten.

Links zu Ergebnissen und Veröffentlichungen von RP7-Projekten sowie Links zu einigen Typen spezifischer Ergebnisse wie Datensätzen und Software werden dynamisch von OpenAIRE abgerufen.

Leistungen

Other (1)

Education/ awareness material

Educational materials for fishers awareness activities (e.g.posters, flyers, and roll-ups) focusing on the problematic of marine litter including: role of the fishing industry as polluter; economic impacts on fisheries; how fishers can minimise waste and reduce harmful environmental impacts (e.g. bycatch, ghost fishing); potential use of alternative/eco-friendly materials; strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy and resource consumption. The educational materials produced towards professional fishers using simple, non-scientific language and will be prepared in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Croatian.

Documents, reports (9)

Report on the awareness actions

Technical report of the awareness actions delivered by fisher’s representatives to their fisheries associates (e.g. small and large-scale fishers). Six awareness actions delivered to raise awareness on the adverse environmental and socio-economic effects of marine litter and ALDFG; and to co-create solutions to promote/implement best practices regarding waste management, including themes such as: what is considered litter; appropriate waste management practices on board and at land; which facilities are needed at ports to handle litter derived from fisheries, including ALDFG; how to implement more environmental-friendly fishing methods to avoid bycatch and reduce consumption of energy and raw materials; and fishers’ perceptions to reduce ALDFG and marine litter.

Autonomous location and recovery system for tagged gears

Report on the autonomous and recovery system for tagged gears. Integration of the enhanced localisation system with existing robotic tools (IRIS ROV/AUV) and a new net recovery payload developed for robotic systems, and increasing of the TRL, with the development of new human machine interfaces (with input from fishers) for robot control and supervision, and custom designed robot deployment and recovery procedures suited to fishing operations. IRIS (previous robot) will be upgraded with automated close-range net detection and recovery control manoeuvres; and also robot operation from smartphone with simple human interaction to allow its use by untrained personnel.

PDEC

Plan for Dissemination, Exploitation and Communication (PDEC) Activities, including Project brand and communication products. PDEC developed to reach and maximise the expected project impacts, and yearly updated and implemented for the full duration of the project in collaboration with all project partners. The PDEC will support the strategic and effective communication, dissemination, and exploitation of NETTAG+s results and findings to all stakeholders including the media and general public, while managing IP protection.

Reward programs for fishers’ voluntary collection and management of marine litter

Report, including a policy brief, about the results of the reward program aimed to voluntary collection and management of marine litter, which was co-produced, in conjunction with key representatives from fishing communities, culturally relevant sets of proposed fishers’ reward programs and 3 generic virtual reality scenarios. Co-production of culturally sensitive best practice reward programs for fishers’ voluntary collection and management of marine litter in the study countries, and recommendations for the implementation of such strategies at a local, national and EU level. And, report of the receptiveness of fisheries regulators and EU/Mediterranean policy-makers to tackle problems of marine litter through the development of specific and effective strategies to improve existing policies and practices.

Roadmap

Roadmap of future development beyond the project. Future analysis on the NETTAG+ solutions considering the new reality and change of paradigm in fisheries, after the project implementation and the needs in the medium to long-term. Medium to long-term R&I roadmaps, performed in collaboration with the advisory board and main stakeholders, around the three solutions of NETTAG+, resulting in a revised action plan to be developed with funding strategies and timelines for each of the solutions.

Litter management plans and facilities at Ports

Report, including a policy brief about regulations, norms, and plans on marine litter management at Ports. Assessment of port managers’ perceptions about current waste management policies, processes and infrastructure in each country; the economic and social implications, major obstacles and challenges faced, and capacity and willingness to improve policies and facilities to properly manage and monitor fishing litter, including recycling and circular economy activities.

Scientific publications

Open Access Scientific articles reporting main results. Report gathering all scientific publications made in the framework of the NetTAG+

NETTAG+ Impact

Key achievements publication. Management and Execution of the KERs and KTPs. Development of Business cases, preliminary market plans and business models for the solutions assessed as high potential KERs and ready or near to commercialisation. Involvement of direct end users of several of the technologies within the consortium to facilitate direct uptake and exploitation.

Field trial and useability report

Report on results of field trials and useability assessment. Extensive trials of the gear location system including:●at least 3 contrasting fishing grounds, e.g. Atlantic Iberian Coast (PT, ES), North Sea (UK), Mediterranean (IT, MT), Adriatic (HR)●different fishing gear (e.g. traps, gills and trammel nets, trawl nets) selected based on criteria of risk analysis of ALDFG gear type and local/regional needs●operation by fishers from Portugal (APMSHM), Spain (ARVI), Italy (CGP, WWF ITALIA), Croatia (WWF ADRI) and Malta (MAFA) and non-experts, to gather extensive end user feedback on useability, practicality and cost-benefit considerations.

Demonstrators, pilots, prototypes (4)

Didactic unit and video game

Develop of an educational program for schoolchildren (1013-year-old) through the use of a video game expressly developed to address and raise awareness about the problem of marine litter, to increase ocean literacy and encourage conservation-attitudes towards ocean protection.

Location & management system

Pre-production prototype surface locator units (SLU) with location app and online tag management tools (TRL 8). SLU further developed to incorporate directivity in the vertical plane and hence increase the communication radius/reduce search time; and also improve immunity to local surface and vessel generated acoustic noise. Mechanisms for rapid and flexible deployment of the SLU on a variety of vessels, along with a user-friendly Android/IOS locator app with seamless interface to the SLU via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless technology.

Enhanced transponders

Pre-production prototype transponders with core location functions (TRL 8). The tag technology fully engineer to reach TRL 8 ready for commercial exploitation. Design and test pre-production tags, with the emphasis on minimum manufacturing cost, maximum physical robustness for harsh treatment by fishers and maximising battery life. Robust but low-cost tag construction with transducer and electronics encased in a hard-plastic shell will be developed and optimised for acoustic coupling performance. Electronic circuits reviewed to further reduce power consumption using the latest ultra-low power ARM microprocessors and/or programmable logic devices, along with further cost engineering/component reduction to reduce the bill of materials.

Extended functions

Prototype transponders with mechanical release and smart deterrent functions (TRL 6). New designs for an optional low-cost release mechanism that can be activated by tag on reception of a secure acoustic command from the surface to, for example, allow the releasing of a small buoy and line to float to the surface. And also, new designs to consider acoustic transceiver circuits, via additional software algorithms, implement echolocation click detection and classification to sense the proximity of many cetacean species (e.g. dolphins), and therefore reduce harmful bycatch in nets by alerting nearby animals to the hazard of a net, mooring line or other fishing gear.

Data Management Plan (2)

Updated Data Management Plan

Final version of DMP, describing how the project will manage data (re-used, collected and generated by the project), in support of the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data. The DMP will include an overview of data types, format and volume and how they will be handled, organised and shared to conform to FAIR principles (section 1.2), including also data protection aspects within the project.

First version of the Data Management Plan

Guidelines for data management (including data protection aspects) within the project, identification and description how the project will manage data (re-used, collected and generated by the project), in support of the Ocean and water knowledge system, in particular by contributing to monitoring, modelling and knowledge creation and data. DMP includes an overview of data types, format and volume and how they will be handled, organised and shared to conform to FAIR principles.

Veröffentlichungen

Thesis and dissertations (4)

AUV navigation simulation for detecting ghost nets through deep learning

Autoren: Silva, C.M.M.
Veröffentlicht in: 2024
Herausgeber: Universidade do Porto

Exploring native microorganisms for bioremediation of oils and other pollutants inside ports

Autoren: Perdigão R.
Veröffentlicht in: 2026
Herausgeber: Universidade do Porto

Acoustic Characterization and Detection of lost fishing gear

Autoren: Oliveira, R.F.M.
Veröffentlicht in: 2024
Herausgeber: Universidade do Porto

Bioavailability and effects of microplastics in estuarine and coastal larval fish assemblages

Autoren: Magalhães S.
Veröffentlicht in: 2025
Herausgeber: Universidade do Porto

Other (8)

Fishers as Guardians of the Ocean: Best Practices for Waste Management

Autoren: NETTAG+ Consortium
Veröffentlicht in: 2026, ISBN 978-989-35923-8-0
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20612032

NETTAG+ Deliverable D3.1 - Enhanced transponders

Autoren: Neasham, J., Sherlock, B., Hopper, R.
Veröffentlicht in: 2025
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20718555

NETTAG+ Deliverable D2.1 – Education/ awareness material

Autoren: Sousa, Lisa; Almeida, Marisa; Ramos, Sandra
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.14016805

NETTAG+ Public Clean-Up Events

Autoren: WWF Mediterranean
Veröffentlicht in: 2026
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.19889307

NETTAG+ Workshop Findings: Raising Awareness and Co‑Developing Solutions with the Fisheries Sector

Autoren: WWF Mediterranean
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20935907

NETTAG+ Deliverable D5.1 - PDEC

Autoren: Pflanz, R., & Reuver, M.
Veröffentlicht in: 2025
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20718636

NETTAG+ Deliverable D1.2 - First version of the Data Management Plan

Autoren: Pflanz, R., & Reuver, M.
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20716749

NETTAG+ Deliverable D6.1 Didactic unit and video game

Autoren: Ainsworth, G., Pita, P., Campos, A., Seijo, J., Villasante, S.
Veröffentlicht in: 2025
Herausgeber: Zenodo
DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.20718862

Peer reviewed articles (13)

Potential of fishing nets for adsorption of inorganic (Cu and Pb) and organic (PAHs) pollutants

Autoren: C. Marisa R. Almeida, Rafaela Perdigão, Bárbara Ribeiro Correia, Henry Van Der Gracht, Sofia Dias, Catarina Magalhães, Maria F. Carvalho, Ana P. Mucha, Francisca Espincho, Sandra Ramos
Veröffentlicht in: Marine Pollution Bulletin, Ausgabe 209, 2024, ISSN 0025-326X
Herausgeber: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117291

Scientific Reports

Autoren: Perdigão, Rafaela; Tavares, Ana Sofia; Carvalho, Maria F.; Magalhães, Catarina; Ramos, Sandra; R. Almeida, C. Marisa; Mucha, Ana Paula
Veröffentlicht in: Scientific Reports, Ausgabe 15, 2025, ISSN 2045-2322
Herausgeber: Nature Publishing Group
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-025-06033-6

Microbial communities associated with plastic fishing nets: diversity, potentially pathogenic and hydrocarbon degrading bacteria

Autoren: Rafaela Perdigão, Ana Sofia Tavares, Maria F. Carvalho, Catarina Magalhães, Sandra Ramos, C. Marisa R. Almeida, Ana P. Mucha
Veröffentlicht in: Scientific Reports, Ausgabe 15, 2025, ISSN 2045-2322
Herausgeber: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-025-06033-6

Learning-Based Online Tracking Algorithms for Marine Litter in Multibeam Water Column Images

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Hugo Miguel Silva, Sen Wang
Veröffentlicht in: IEEE Access, Ausgabe 14, 2026, ISSN 2169-3536
Herausgeber: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3677642

Smart acoustic tagging and robotic recovery systems for ghost gear pollution

Autoren: Sandra Ramos, Marisa Almeida, Lisa Sousa, Jeff Neasham, Alfredo Martins
Veröffentlicht in: Open Access Government, Ausgabe 50, 2026, ISSN 2516-3817
Herausgeber: Adjacent Digital Politics Ltd
DOI: 10.56367/OAG-050-12543

Challenges and recommendations for marine waste management in European fishing ports

Autoren: Cristina Pita, Gillian B. Ainsworth, Marina Astudillo-Pascual, Priscila M. Silva, Angel Gutierrez, Sebastian Villasante
Veröffentlicht in: Frontiers in Marine Science, Ausgabe 13, 2026, ISSN 2296-7745
Herausgeber: Frontiers Media SA
DOI: 10.3389/FMARS.2026.1728784

Descriptor: Forward-Looking Multibeam—Marine Litter Detection and Tracking Dataset (FLM-MLDT)

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Maksym Lysak, Guilherme Amaral, Pedro Martins, Carlos Almeida, Hugo Miguel Silva, Alfredo Martins, Sen Wang, Jose Miguel Almeida
Veröffentlicht in: IEEE Data Descriptions, Ausgabe 3, 2026, ISSN 2995-4274
Herausgeber: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
DOI: 10.1109/IEEEDATA.2026.3683037

Descriptor: <i>Forward-Looking Multibeam - Marine Litter Detection and Tracking Dataset (FLM-MLDT)</i>

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Maksym Lysak, Guilherme Amaral, Pedro Martins, Carlos Almeida, Hugo Miguel Silva, Alfredo Martins, Sen Wang, José Miguel Almeida
Veröffentlicht in: IEEE Data Descriptions, 2026, ISSN 2995-4274
Herausgeber: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
DOI: 10.1109/IEEEDATA.2026.3683037

An Integrated Approach to Assessing the Potential of Plastic Fishing Gear to Release Microplastics

Autoren: Sandra Ramos, Francisca Espincho, Sabrina M. Rodrigues, Ruben Pereira, Diogo Silva, Luca Rivoira, Rafaela Perdigão, C. Marisa R. Almeida
Veröffentlicht in: Water, Ausgabe 17, 2025, ISSN 2073-4441
Herausgeber: MDPI AG
DOI: 10.3390/W17101439

Multibeam Multi-Frequency Characterization of Water Column Litter

Autoren: Guedes, Pedro Alves; Silva, Hugo; Wang, Sen; Martins, Alfredo; Almeida, José Miguel; Silva, Eduardo
Veröffentlicht in: OCEANS 2024 - Singapore, 2024, ISSN 2473-2001
Herausgeber: IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS51537.2024.10682168

Acoustic Imaging Learning-Based Approaches for Marine Litter Detection and Classification

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Hugo Miguel Silva, Sen Wang, Alfredo Martins, José Almeida, Eduardo Silva
Veröffentlicht in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Ausgabe 12, 2024, ISSN 2077-1312
Herausgeber: MDPI AG
DOI: 10.3390/JMSE12111984

Water (Switzerland)

Autoren: Ramos, Sandra; Espincho, Francisca; Rodrigues Magalhães, Sabrina; Pereira, Rúben; Silva, Diogo; Rivoira, Luca; Perdigão Mendes, Rafaela; Almeida, C. Marisa
Veröffentlicht in: Water, Ausgabe 17, 2025, ISSN 2073-4441
Herausgeber: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
DOI: 10.3390/W17101439

Microbial communities associated with plastic fishing nets: diversity, potentially pathogenic and hydrocarbon degrading bacteria

Autoren: Rafaela Perdigão, Ana Sofia Tavares, Maria F. Carvalho, Catarina Magalhães, Sandra Ramos, C. Marisa R. Almeida, Ana P. Mucha
Veröffentlicht in: Scientific Reports, Ausgabe 15, 2025, ISSN 2045-2322
Herausgeber: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-025-06033-6

Conference proceedings (3)

Low Energy, Real Time Passive Acoustic Detection of Dolphin Clicks and Whistles

Autoren: Jeff Neasham, Richard Burnett, Gavin Lowes, Ben Sherlock, Per Berggren, Sarah Dickson
Veröffentlicht in: 2025 7th Experiment@ International Conference (exp.at'25), 2026
Herausgeber: IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/EXP.AT2565440.2025.11348486

Multibeam Acoustic Image based Detection and Tracking of Marine Litter in the Water Column

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Hugo Silva, Sen Wang, Alfredo Martins, José Miguel Almeida
Veröffentlicht in: OCEANS 2025 Brest, 2025
Herausgeber: IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS58557.2025.11104332

Multibeam Multi-Frequency Characterization of Water Column Litter

Autoren: Pedro Alves Guedes, Hugo Silva, Sen Wang, Alfredo Martins, José Miguel Almeida, Eduardo Silva
Veröffentlicht in: OCEANS 2024 - Singapore, 2024
Herausgeber: IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS51537.2024.10682168