The Energy and Research Institute (TERI) will soon undertake a trial operation to collect abandoned nets from local fishermen, which would help Goa's stunning beaches, which are currently covered in fishing net debris, look better in the future.
“The state presently has no mechanism for the collection of discarded fishing nets. There are 240 different types of nets being used by fishermen with an estimated 21,000 kg of discarded nets in 2020-21,” disclosed Dr. Ashwini Pai Panandikar, fellow, TERI.
Old fishing nets should receive special attention because they are constructed of synthetic fiber and cannot decompose, according to Panandikar.
“Fishermen get new fishing nets every two years. But with no collection system in place, the unused nets are discarded on the beaches, and at jetties and fish landing sites,” Panandikar said.
The TERI researcher continued by stating that abandoned fishing nets are either "thrown into the sea where they harm the fish, marine life, and birds" or utilized as fence or for drying fish.
In partnership with the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), it will be a commercially feasible strategy that will encourage the fishermen to cast their nets at defined locations.
“Discarded fishing nets in other states are presently being collected by scrap dealers and sent to a company in Pune, which recycles it to make surfboards. A similar use can be implemented in Goa,” TERI said.
At a stakeholder engagement meeting on Monday, the GSPCB covered the issue of trash on the beaches, specifically the issue of plastic garbage and abandoned fishing nets.
According to the meeting, Goa is the only state having a circular economy policy that was announced in February 2020.
The policy hasn't been put into effect yet, though. Nilesh Cabral, minister of the environment, opened the stakeholders' gathering.
A QR-code based software called Zeeloop was introduced at the conference with the goal of encouraging beachgoers to deposit plastic rubbish and earn points for their efforts.
German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ India), Landbell Green Forest Solutions, and Goan startup Innovative Waste Aid & Management Pvt. Ltd. are working on the app project together.
“The app initiative will reduce plastic waste as well as discarded fishing nets from our beaches thus protecting the marine ecosystem and promoting sustainable tourism,” Cabral said.
Mahesh Patil, chairman of the GSPCB, said the discarded fishing nets present serious ecological hazards and that "we want to promote an effective collecting mechanism of these nets" during his remarks.
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