A material flow analysis of recycling of gillnets from Norwegian fisheries - Case study of the Northern periphery and Arctic region

Abstract

This study attempts to quantify the flows of gillnets in Norway by using Material Flow Analysis. The research consist of mapping the extent of lost fishing gear in European and Norwegian fisheries and using the gathered data to design a MFA-model. We humans have learned to harvest these marine resources and we have become more efficient in doing so trough technological development within the marine sector (Fiskeridirektoratet, 2014). Scientist have reason to believe that within a few years there will be more plastic waste in the ocean than fish and that the ever increasing global population will become far more dependent on marine nutrients in order to sustain the population growth. This implies an increased exploitation of marine resources resulting in intensified fishing. The issue of derelict fishing gear has in the recent years received increased focus and has been found to have a profound negative impact on marine organisms and ecosystems. The causes for loss of equipment are well known bot little effort has been done to find the extent that gear loss occurs. The finding in this study suggest that the loss of fishing equipment is low compared to the amount of gillnets that are in use. The study is concluded by the development and simulation of scenarios for recycling. These scenarios are based on a industrial example from a Norwegian recycler. The display the potential for improvement within recycling of gillnets.