Harald Rau

Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences · Institute for Media Management

Initial situation Vietnam is regarded as one of the countries with the highest amount of plastic waste discharged into the sea. According to a survey in 2015, the volume of plastic waste from Vietnam emitted to the sea fluctuates from 0.28 to 0.73 million tons per year. Vietnam, at present, does not have national data to identify sources of plastic emissions from land or sea and no quantitative research or statistics on the amount of plastic waste in coastal areas. A survey at PacificCoastal gillnet fisheries of the Republic of Korea in 2014 showed that about 38.000 tonnes gillnets per year are abandoned, lost or discarded in coastal waters of the Republic of Korea. But in general and Vietnam in particular the rate and magnitude of Abandoned, Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear ALDFG is still largely unknown. Rough order-of-magnitude approximations estimate that marine gillnet and trammel net fishers might lose an average of 1 percent of their gear (e.g. 1 percent of gear lost per vessel per year). Moreover, the management of marine plastic waste is a big challenge for Vietnam in the context of increasing disposable plastic habit and limited solid waste management capacity. In addition, campaigns to change the habit of using plastic products and discharging plastic waste have not achieved the desired results. Short description The NET-Works project focuses on the reduction of marine litter from abandoned, lost or discharged fishnets in Vietnamese coastal waters in the network with SME-fishery enterprises, universities and fishery authorities of the region. The project promotes the development of capacities in higher education for the analysis of product life cycles, the definition of recycling routes and the definition of new value chains. This seems necessary since environmental problems are rather complex and future generations of scientists and employees in enterprises need to draw on synergies from networking. Empirical studies for creation of national data to identify and quantify sources of plastic emissions from fishery activities are conducted and life cycle information are compiled. Fishnet material/plasitc from different phases of use will be analysed and categorized with respect to later recycling or re-use. The development of best practice guidelines for the reusability and recyclability of fishing gear strengthens the awareness of small and medium-sized fishing companies for circular economy solutions and their implementation. By advising the political partners on the evaluation of technology options and concepts, capacities are created in the political arena to develop suitable regulatory framework conditions for avoiding marine litter from fishing equipment and to promote sustainable circular economy solutions. Demonstration centres for plastics recycling will be established to increase public environmental awareness and to create opportunities for Vietnamese plastics industry for development of recycled material and new products.Through measures for dissemination and sustainability, the model character of the closed cycle economy in fisheries is supported and the transfer of the project results is ensured.