Plastic-Neutral Fisheries: Feasibility and Opportunities Throughout the World
Around 14 million tons of plastic are disposed of at sea every year and the nature of plastic means that it can take decades, even centuries, to fully degrade. That means almost all of the plastic ever created still exists somewhere today, even in dynamic environments like the ocean. We need to look at the fishing industry differently. The one-by-one fleets of the Maldives and the Azores have shown themselves to be unexpected allies of the ocean. They have demonstrated great success in achieving plastic neutrality through innovative ideas and now it is time for the rest of the fishing industry to pursue the same goals. The health of the ocean affects us all and we are all responsible so now that we know a plastic-neutral tuna fishing industry is possible, we shouldn’t take a neutral stance on its potential.
Emilia Dyer
Policy Manager, International Pole and Line Foundation
As Policy Manager, Emilia supports IPNLF with a global approach in policy and advocacy work in the IOTC, WCPFC, and ICCATRFMOs as well as particularly focussing on the Atlantic Region in the Outermost Regions Advisory Council(CCRUP) which is a recently formed regional EU stakeholder-led organization that provides the European Commission and relevant EU countries with recommendations on fisheries management matter.
