In recent years, marine plastic pollution has become a global crisis while fishing nets and equipments are considering as one of the root causes. Therefore, the research and production of eco-friendly fishing equipments are expected to provide a solution to reduce ocean plastic pollution.
Fishing equipment – contribute factor to marine pollution
Vietnam is the 4th country in the world in volume of plastic waste, with approximately 0.28 to 0.73 million tons per year (Jambeck, 2015). At present, plastic waste is posing direct threats to marine life. Approximately 70% of large plastic flakes at sea and 46% of the Pacific garbage patch are formed from fishing equipments (Greenpeace, 2019). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that around 640,000 tons of fishing gears are left at sea each year around the world.
According to a Greenpeace report, lost and abandoned fishing gear which is deadly to marine life makes up the majority of large plastic pollution in the oceans. More than 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, and traps used in commercial fishing are dumped and discarded in the sea every year, the same weight as 55,000 double-decker buses.
“Nets and lines can pose a threat to wildlife for years or decades, ensnaring everything from small fish and crustaceans to endangered turtles, seabirds and even whales,” the report said.
Solutions to reduce marine plastic waste
Since 2002, Korea has been developing and supplying compostable fishing gear under the direction of the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS). AnKor Bioplastics, a member of
An Phat Holdings, has been participating in the research and development of materials for fishing gear production such as compostable fishing nets.
On that basis, after many years of research and development, An Phat Holdings has successfully produced compostable fishing gears such as fishing nets, fish traps … These gears are made from mixed materials (PBS, PBAT and other additives) that environmentally friendly and capable of degradable.
The advantage of the product is that it can completely decompose in the seawater, seabed thanks to the microorganisms. The decomposition process does not create harmful substances for the environment, and the decomposition time is shorter than that of traditional fishing gears.
In addition, according to the tests in the laboratory and the actual environment, the “green” fishing gear products produced by the Group have physical and chemical properties and the fishing ability equivalent to conventional fishing gears on the market. Thanks to these advantages, An Phat Holdings compostable fishing gears have been popular in the market and especially fishing nets products are exported to countries such as Europe, America…
With the research and production orientation of producing products that serving all areas of life, besides compostable bags, knives, spoons, forks, straws, gloves…, the compostable fishing gear or compostable mulch films are crucial to the development of the Group’s compostable products segment. Hopefully, in the coming time, these eco-friendly products will be popularly used in Vietnam and Worldwide.
