AFTER the successful and initial implementation of recycling fishing nets in the Philippines, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is ready to export the program to the African nation of Cameroon. Dr. Nick Hill, Conservation for Communities technical specialist for ZSL, said they chose the Lake Ossa region in the former French colony because it has the same conditions in the Philippines, where nets used for freshwater fishing affected the habitat of the fish and other aquatic resources.
ZSL initially implemented the net collection in Danajaon Bank and Bantayan Islands in Bohol and Cebu, respectively. “The Philippines has been the perfect place to trial Net-Works,” said Hill, who chose the country as his area for graduate studies in marine conservation.
“The ZSL Philippines team with the local communities who have been incredibly receptive and supportive of Net-Works, have been able to develop an effective model that not only removes this damaging waste from the marine environment, but also brings socioeconomic benefits. What we have achieved, so far, shows that Net-Works was ‘made in the Philippines’ and is now ready for export.”
The United Nations Environment Program reported that abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear—including nets—contribute approximately 10 percent of marine waste globally. By recycling fish nets, companies will require less carbon footprint because it means they will use less amount of oil in producing nylon.
Edrich Baron, chairman of Guindacpan Community Managed Savings and Credit Association and Guindacpan Barangay Council Member, commended the net recycling program because it augments fishermen’s income.
“At the same time, the Net-Works program taught us the importance of sustainable fishing to ensure our survival,” he said.
“Before we were exposed to the recycling program, we just used to throw out discarded fishing nets to the water. We found out this was not a sound practice because this keeps fishing from moving from one place to another resulting in lower catch for us,” he added.
Mayor Maynard Villanueva of Concepcion town in Iloilo said recycling fishnets boosted their solid-waste management program.
“Besides contributing to the waste of the river, old fishing nets led to the ghost fishing in the area,” he said.
Ghost fishing refers to the lost or abandoned fishing gear that continues to catch fish. Further, it is environmentally detrimental and the fish caught are wasted.
The issue of “ghost fishing” was first brought to the attention of the world at the 16th Session of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization Committee on Fisheries (Cofi) in April 1985. Following a debate at Cofi, the Food and Agriculture Organization Secretariat published an in-depth study of the problem. Ghost fishing normally occurs with passive fishing gear, such as longlines, gill nets, entangling nets, trammel nets, traps and pots, etc. as opposed to active fishing gear, such as trawls and seines. The catching process of active fishing gear generally ceases when the gear is no longer attached to the vessel. However, any type of lost or abandoned fishing gear on the surface is a danger to passing vessels by becoming entangled in the propeller and disabling the vessel, particularly in bad weather. Fishing vessels are especially at risk because the lost fishing gear may be brought to the surface if entangled in the vessel’s own fishing gear.
Net-Works is the first inclusive business model of its kind to combine the conservation and livelihood expertise of ZSL and the business know-how of Interface to integrate fishing communities in the Philippines into the global carpet company’s supply chain as a source of recycled nylon.
ZSL and Interface are partnered with yarn supplier Aquafil, as well as with Philippine-based partners Southern Partners and Fair Trade Corp. and Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation to build a model for inclusive business that is closing the loop on marine plastics, providing the opportunity to earn supplemental income for some of the world’s most disadvantaged people, and creating an innovative pipeline to allow Interface to reach its goal of sustainable manufacturing.
“Within Interface, sustainability goes beyond reducing the environmental impact of our products,” said Rob Coombs, president of Interface Asia-Pacific. “It is about creating a new way of doing business that is more sensitive, inclusive and, ultimately, more successful.”
Rizal Raoul Reyes