November 21st is the United Nations World Fisheries Day. The Fishermen’s Rights and Environmental Sustainability Center (Fishing Environment Center) held a press conference on marine waste recycling records near the coast of Yunlin-Chiayi. 10 fishing boats using gillnets will collect fish for the first time in 2023. A total of 504 surveys were conducted in the three seasons, and 313.59 kilograms and a total of 4,680 pieces of marine debris were cleared from the sea. The main components of garbage are plastics and fishery waste, accounting for 88% of the total marine waste. Among the fishery waste, 86% are oyster strips, which are also special marine waste in the southwest sea.
Marine debris collected by fishermen while fishing. Image source: Center for Fishermen’s Rights and Environmental Sustainability
94% fishing operations will catch marine debris
The Fishery Environment Center received a subsidy from the Marine Conservation Department to conduct a one-year pilot project, using 10 fishing boats with 10 people in Taizi Village, Kouhu Township, Yunlin County, from January to September 2023, in Taixi Township, Sihu Data on marine waste caught by gillnets in coastal waters were recorded in four areas, namely, Kouhu Township, and Dongshi Township, with a total of 504 surveys. There are oyster sheds, offshore wind farms, Liuqing petrochemical plant, landfills and landfill reclamation sites near the survey location.
It was found that the 94% fishing operation would catch marine debris; a total of 313.59 kilograms of 4,680 pieces of marine debris were removed in 9 months. The debris was mainly composed of plastic and fishery waste, and there was also a lot of household waste, such as sneakers, PET bottles, etc.
Qiu Jingchun, a research assistant at the Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management of the National Oceanic University who participated in analyzing the data, said that the amount of garbage in the four areas will be affected by the number of fishing boats collecting garbage, but on average, the amount of marine garbage in Kouhu Township is larger. many.
There are many oyster strips in the southwest sea area
Among the components of marine waste, 61% is plastic, and 27% is fishing equipment; among plastics, 67% is plastic fragments and plastic bags, and 15% is plastic tableware; among fishing equipment, 86% is oyster strips, fishing nets are 6%, and buoys are 3%.
A closer analysis shows that Kouhu Township and Sihu Township have the most oyster sticks in the first season, but decrease with the season; plastic fragments and plastic bags will increase with the season or remain the same. The data of Taixi Township and Dongshi Township are opposite. It is worth noting that paper sales in Kouhu Township increased by 20% in the third quarter.
During the survey, the majority of marine waste was plastic garbage and fishing equipment, accounting for a total of 88%. Image source: Extracted from Yunjia gill net waste survey results briefing
According to information from fishermen from the Fishery Environment Center, since there are oyster farms in the southwest sea, oyster strips are special marine waste in this area and are mainly distributed in Kouhu Township and Dongshi Township. Abnormal deaths of young oysters occurred from February to April this year, and fishermen may have separated and destroyed the oyster strips, which may have resulted in a larger proportion of discarded oyster strips in Kouhu Township in the first quarter. Other possible factors include the three typhoons from the end of July to the beginning of October this year, which caused seawater disturbances and rolled up underlying garbage.
Fishermen want to participate in ocean-related public affairs discussions
Liu Wanling, project manager of the Fisheries Environment Center, said that during discussions with fishermen, she also learned a lot about the ocean and fishing, including where marine waste comes from; and fishermen also complain that "if there is garbage, there will be no fish." Li Pingshun, chairman of the Yunlin County Offshore Fishing Boat Association, said that fishermen didn’t know what marine debris was before, but after joining the project, they realized that “it turns out that marine debris has been harmful to the ocean...plastic pieces have been eaten. (in the belly of the fish)", and pointed out that fishermen hope to fully participate in discussions on public affairs related to the ocean and fisheries.
Zhong Hanshu, director of the Fisheries Environment Center, said that he was originally worried about the fishermen's acceptance of the plan, but the fishermen also hoped to win the public's support for the fishermen through different methods. The most difficult thing about implementing the plan was that during the busy operations of the fishermen, It is also necessary to subdivide and record the types of garbage, which will cause extra workload during the operation. Fishermen will find it troublesome and resist, so the Fishery Environment Center spent a lot of time with them. He also pointed out that this pilot project only conducted three-quarter surveys, and he hoped to have the opportunity to launch another project and conduct a complete four-season survey.
Source: Environmental Information Center
