Connected fishing gear to limit plastic pollution

• Specializing in satellite observation, the Toulouse company CLS has developed connected beacons for nets and other fishing traps.
• The loss of these fishing gear by trawlers is the source of a significant part of the plastic pollution of the oceans.
• An experiment with these connected beacons begins this month in the Mediterranean, in the Var.

This Monday, as every year on the occasion of World Oceans Day, beach cleanups are organized almost everywhere on the coasts of the world. Among the garbage collected, the volunteers will certainly find pieces of nets and other ropes from the fishing activity.

Each year, 640,000 tonnes of lines, life vests and other fishing gear are lost at sea or abandoned in the oceans by trawlers, sometimes turning into traps for turtles and dolphins.

The impact of #PlasticPollution is huge. @UN estimated that plastic marine litter causes $ 13 billion of financial damage to global marine ecosystems yearly. And marine animals are often killed or injured by ingesting plastic. 🐟https: //t.co/mox6Vp3Imx#WorldEnvironmentDay 🌏 pic.twitter.com/8oCuC8BFpV

They are mostly made of plastic and add to the millions of tonnes of waste, of which they represent 10% of the volume. To limit the number of these "ghost equipment", the Toulouse-based company CLS, specializing in Earth observation, has developed a small beacon, no larger than two inches, connected by satellite. “It is a real plague to which we propose to provide part of the answer. We managed to break the technological lock by creating these tags but also the economic lock because it will cost from a few tens of euros up to 150 euros depending on the box, "explains Gaëtan Fabritius, director of innovation and prospecting at CLS. It will also cost a few euros per month for monitoring.

Supported by Cnes and in partnership with Ifremer, the company is experimenting this month with its first connected nets in the Mediterranean in association with the Departmental Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming in the Var. By September, another experiment will be launched overseas to test other types of fishing gear.

Earnings for fishermen

“This device has several dimensions. That of preventing these devices from becoming marine litter never recovered. It is also an operational gain for fishermen who will thus make less sea to recover them thanks to their location and they will thus be able to better manage their fishing space. This will prevent them from losing expensive equipment, ”continues the CLS manager.

And for the scientific community, it is a way of monitoring fishing fleets and ensuring the sustainable management of marine resources.

The experimentation phase should end next year for the marketing of the beacons the following year. To be part of a virtuous circle, the machines brought back to earth and which would be unusable will be recycled by a value chain of the solidarity economy.

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• Peach
• Satellite
• Plastic
• Ocean
• Sea
• Pollution
• Toulouse
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