Panaji: The pilot project taken up in the state to collect discarded plastic fishing nets — to prevent them from polluting marine ecosystems — is now set to be extended across Goa’s coastline.
The project by The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) was initially implemented on three beaches of North Goa and one in South Goa, along with key stakeholders such as the state fisheries department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).
The project has proved to be a success. “We will now extend it across Goa,” said GSPCB chairperson Mahesh Patil. “We have spoken to the fisheries department about identifying spots along the coastline where fishermen can deposit the fishnets to be discarded. This will facilitate depositing and collection.”
A short film on the pilot project was released by chief minister Pramod Sawant in this week.
Approximately 40 to 50 tonnes of plastic waste are generated every month along Goa’s coast by discarded fishing nets alone, Teri has estimated. The year-long project was funded by the European Union-Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI), Teri, and GIZ. A local industry partner was identified to permanently enable collection, recycling, and scientific processing of the discarded fishing net waste.
The project began with a pilot in small fishing villages along the Siridao, Cacra, Odxel belt in North Goa and Talpona in South Goa. At small jetties scrap dealers were already collecting the nets. However, in smaller fishing villages, the collection was not taking place.
The fishermen also need to discard unwanted nets because they live in small houses and lack space to store the nets. While some nets were mostly burnt, others were thrown back into the sea. Both methods harm the environment — the first through air pollution and the second through ghost nets found in the deep ocean that disintegrate into microplastics, bioaccumulate, and enter into the food chain.
Ghost nets also harm sea turtles, who can die getting entangled in such nets.
The project by The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri) was initially implemented on three beaches of North Goa and one in South Goa, along with key stakeholders such as the state fisheries department and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).
The project has proved to be a success. “We will now extend it across Goa,” said GSPCB chairperson Mahesh Patil. “We have spoken to the fisheries department about identifying spots along the coastline where fishermen can deposit the fishnets to be discarded. This will facilitate depositing and collection.”
A short film on the pilot project was released by chief minister Pramod Sawant in this week.
Approximately 40 to 50 tonnes of plastic waste are generated every month along Goa’s coast by discarded fishing nets alone, Teri has estimated. The year-long project was funded by the European Union-Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI), Teri, and GIZ. A local industry partner was identified to permanently enable collection, recycling, and scientific processing of the discarded fishing net waste.
The project began with a pilot in small fishing villages along the Siridao, Cacra, Odxel belt in North Goa and Talpona in South Goa. At small jetties scrap dealers were already collecting the nets. However, in smaller fishing villages, the collection was not taking place.
The fishermen also need to discard unwanted nets because they live in small houses and lack space to store the nets. While some nets were mostly burnt, others were thrown back into the sea. Both methods harm the environment — the first through air pollution and the second through ghost nets found in the deep ocean that disintegrate into microplastics, bioaccumulate, and enter into the food chain.
Ghost nets also harm sea turtles, who can die getting entangled in such nets.