Catalan fishermen have removed more than 120,000 liters of garbage from the sea during 2023 within the framework of the Net Fishing project, double that of the previous year.
The increase in waste responds to the increase in boats participating in the Pesca Neta project, which involves 900 fishermen. Among the Tarragona ports, l'Ametlla de Mar is the one that has removed the most waste, 10,887 liters.
According to the fishermen, most of the waste is plastic, especially sanitary wipes, packaging, but also drums, cans and other items such as wood, tar and coal from old boats. The entire Catalan fleet has been participating in this initiative for three years, which has recorded the removal of 240,000 liters of garbage, half of them last year.
Before arriving at port, the fishermen of L'Ametlla de Mar record through a mobile application all the waste that has become entangled in the nets during their workday, along with the fish of the day.
They classify it based on type and weight, in addition to complementing it with photographs that document the discovery. "Normally we collect between ten and fifteen kilos, today has been a good day because there have been less," said Juanma Margalef, skipper of a boat from L'Ametlla de Mar.
Factors such as rough seas, storms or distance from land have a direct impact on the discovery of waste.
According to Margalef, the most common products found are pieces of plastic, especially containers, but also glass bottles, paint drums and on occasion even washing machines or batteries from other boats.
Throughout Catalonia, 120,000 liters of garbage extracted from the sea have been recorded throughout 2023. This is double the previous year and half of what was collected in the three years of the Net Fishing program.
Sources from the Department of Climate, Food and Rural Agenda suggest that these data would be equivalent to eighteen tankers of marine garbage. The deputy director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Itziar Segarra, has pointed out that these data respond to the increase in fishermen who use the mobile application where they record the garbage removed daily and which has accounted for more than 3,000 hours of the fishermen's workdays.
According to data from the department, the port that has recorded the greatest removal of waste on the entire Catalan coast is that of Palamós, in Girona, after collecting 28,052.25 liters of garbage.
In the Barcelona district, Vilanova y la Geltrú leads the ranking with 19,694 liters, while in Tarragona, L'Ametlla de Mar, with six boats participating in Pesca Neta, has removed 10,887 liters. At a global level, the Barcelona district has collected 34,968.10 liters of garbage, the Girona district 58,527.25 liters and finally Tarragona 26,778 liters.
All Catalan fishermen are involved in the Pesca Neta project, although Acció Climàtica recognizes that not all use the mobile application where the waste collected is recorded daily. Thus, they point out that the volume of garbage removed is greater.
The project aims to evaluate the impact of the human factor on marine pollution and improve the recovery of the marine environment, in addition to compensating the fishing sector for its dedication to this initiative.
In this context, one million euros per year is allocated to this program, which is distributed among the federations of participating fishermen's associations, with co-financing from the European fund that this year rises to 70%.
On the other hand, from the L'Ametlla de Mar fishermen's brotherhood, its president Miquel Brull has celebrated the participation of all the boats in the Net Fishing project promoted three years ago. "We already know that it is a job that perhaps would not be our responsibility but that we must do it to save our means of living, which is fishing and going to the sea," Brull insisted.
