Marine litter still a problem for aquaculture, report says

The survey is based on interviews with 12 representatives from the aquaculture industry. Eight out of 12 state that they have lost major farming components over the past five years.

The findings show that losses most often occur during demanding operations such as delousing, net changes and maintenance work. Bad weather is a common trigger, but many also point out that time pressure, inaccuracy and small slips in execution can cause equipment to go astray.

But it also says attitudes in the industry are generally good. The challenge often lies in compliance and accuracy when working conditions are demanding, the report says.

Respondents highlight better training, cleaning discipline and increased use of technological solutions as the most important measures to reduce the risk of future losses.

The report also says that despite high awareness and extensive routines, losses of equipment at sea continue to occur: “Attitudes in the industry appear to be consistently good, but the challenge lies in precision and compliance in a busy workday. Bad weather is often a triggering cause, but we hear that human inaccuracy or carelessness can often, but not always, be behind it as a contributing cause.”

It finds that equipment is most often lost during operations with high activity and many manual interventions – such as delousing, service and repair, re-mooring, net and rig changes as well as during fallowing and intermediate storage.

“Common to these situations is that the work takes place under time pressure or unclear conditions, with a lot of equipment in use and temporary solutions that increase the risk of something becoming loose, being forgotten or blowing away at sea.”

The report adds that new technical solutions that can help reduce equipment losses are available, but knowledge about them is unevenly distributed.

It says: “Some players have adopted such solutions and see the benefits, while others lack information or experience. This points to a clear information gap between suppliers and companies.”