SEARCULAR acts on solutions for three of the main contributors to European fishery plastics and microplastics - demersal trawlers, demersal seiners, and tropical tuna purse seiners, as well as at ports.
By reconditioning EOL polyamide (PA) purse seine nets to manufacture more resistant dolly rope from the recycled material, the project is supporting demersal trawlers in reducing fisheries related marine litter at sea and creating value from discarded nets in ports. To date, the research team has collected four tonnes of EOL purse seine nets. These nets have been processed, sorting the different materials and removing floats and other components that currently can’t be recycled. This has provided three tonnes of PA material, which has been cleaned and processed into a pellet feedstock for extrusion into recycled PA dolly ropes.
Working with demersal seiners, another of SEARCULAR’s solutions is developing a biodegradable seine rope coating, using innovative biodegradable polymers. While the ropes will still have abrasion in use, the microfibers produced are designed to biodegrade in sea water. To date, the team have developed a biopolymer that is currently being tested aboard fishing vessels for degradation under saltwater conditions. Following these tests, full scale seine ropes will be developed for real condition testing aboard two demersal seine vessels. Initial tests have suggested that the biodegradable polymers being developed are three times more resistant to friction than traditional materials used.
To reduce the impact of lost and abandoned plastic drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) on the marine environment, SEARCULAR is trialling three new biodegradable ‘Eco-FAD’ models. To date, sustainably harvested, natural and toxin free materials have been sourced for the manufacture of Eco-FADs. The team are working collaboratively with two fishing companies to co-design the Eco-FAD models and following workshops with fishers, have developed three different designs for trial at sea which are currently in production.
SEARCULAR’s fourth solution considers port-based collection of EOL fishing gear to support collection and processing for recycling. SEARCULAR is trialling a port-based approach that can facilitate collection, sorting and conditioning of EOL fishing gear. In collaboration with port authorities and the Basque Government, the team has collected over 10 tonnes of material from ports across the Basque region. The material is being cleaned and sorted into different material types. The feedstock requirements for chemical recycling have also been established.
