End-of-Life Fishing Gears in Spain: Quantity and Recyclability

European Commission has approached the challenge of End-Of-Life (EOL) fishing gears and Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) by focusing on circular economy. Current directives highlight the need to provide a proper management to EOL fishing gears, fostering their separate collection, transport, and treatment from a circular perspective. They also request Member States to set collection and treatment targets. However, this is far from being widely implemented in a coordinated manner. In the quest to explore the Spanish case, this contribution aims at providing insights on the amount and type of EOL fishing gear and management practices carried out in different Spanish ports, as well as recycling options for such gears. Data were collected through an online survey, interviews to stakeholders, and visits to ports. Composition, degradation and mechanical recyclability of EOL samples were assessed. Yearly, 1643 tonnes of EOL fishing gears (mainly nets) are discarded in Spanish ports from trawling (97.5%), gillnet/trammel nets (2.3%) and purse seine (0.2%) fisheries. High-density polyethylene (from trawling nets) is the most common discarded polymer, followed by polyamide 6 (from gillnets/trammel net and purse seine nets). EOL fishing gears management is diverse in Spain as it depends on the nature of the port (who governs it, either regional or national govern), special agreements between local fishers’ guilds and waste managing companies, the waste managers in port, etc. Polyamide nets are degraded but in good condition to be recycled mechanically; for trawl nets chemical recycling is more suited due to their degraded state. Currently, few recycling companies exists in Spain that are engaged on mechanical recycling of EOL fishing gears, none in chemical recycling. Therefore, a more comprehensive analysis, coordination, and smart logistics are needed to make the collection and recycling of EOL fishing gear possible.