OCEANETS Project turns discarded fishing nets to sportswear

Funded by the European Union and led by AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, the OCEANETS project has started testing a tool to prevent the loss and abandonment of fishing gear and to facilitate recovery.

The project has also begun research on chemical and mechanical recycling processes that can be implemented to make use of these fishing nets to produce sportswear and other high added-value products.

The first tests were carried out on the GPS tracking tool, which fishermen can use for preventive purposes to identify areas where they detect obstacles that trap their fishing gear, as well as areas where they have lost nets, so that they can be collected. 

On land, the project’s work has also started with the first tests to develop innovative mechanical and chemical recycling methods to find new uses for recovered fishing nets at the end of their life cycle. 

Over ten months, the Port of Vigo Shipowners’ Cooperative (ARVI) has contacted several agents in the fishing gear value chain (manufacturers, users, repair and waste management services) to gain firsthand information on the life cycle of fishing nets, as well as the challenges posed by their loss at sea and recycling at the end of their life cycle. 

ARVI member ships are chartered to bring disused nets to the port. The cooperative also works with waste managers and net makers that manufacture and repair fishing gear.

Currently, initial chemical recycling tests are being performed on polyamide nets to obtain fibres that can be used to produce sportswear.

Other companies and associations participating in the OCEANETS project include ECOALF, the Universidad de Vigo, Sintex and the Asociación Vertidos Cero.