Plastic pollution and the resulting entanglement of marine wildlife is a global and growing issue. However, there is a significant lack of knowledge about the impacts of marine litter on marine biodiversity in Morocco. Based on a digital media search, we evaluated the negative impacts of marine litter on Moroccan marine biodiversity. The study demonstrated that sixty-eight individuals from 18 species were affected by marine litter. Cetaceans are most affected by entanglements, followed by sea turtles, fish, seabirds and elasmobranchs. Most of the reported entanglements were from discarded or lost fishing gear, indicating the importance of strengthening existing legislation for the protection of endangered marine animals and implementing mitigation measures related to discarded fishing litter. This study is the first inventory of marine wildlife affected by marine litter in Morocco, but the real status stays underestimated and still somewhat unclear.

How to cite: Keznine, M.: The impacts of abandoned, discarded and lost fishing gear on marine biodiversity in Morocco, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-171, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-171, 2025.

This study investigated the end-of-life fishing gear disposal methods in coastal communities and the implications on the blue economy in the Gulf of Guinea. We adopted questionnaires and focus group discussions for data collection among artisanal fishers. Females dominated the group compared to males, with most fishers within the age bracket of 41-50 years. Over one-third of the fishers had secondary education. The common disposal practices for damaged and end-of-life fishing gear include indiscriminate disposal in the terrestrial and aquatic environment, as well as burning and repurposing for domestic uses. Most fishers (92%) are unaware of the environmental consequences of improper gear disposal, indicating a severe lack of environmental education and the ecological implications of improper fishing gear disposal. Fishing gear destruction (90%), loss (60%) and gear entanglement are prevalent among fishers. Factors responsible for gear destruction and loss include barge operations (54.8%), strong tides (29%), large vessels (9.7%) and speedboats (7.5%). The main items entangling fishing gear include plastic bags, clothes, ghost gear and wood. Preventive measures undertaken by fishers include river lights and the attachment of coloured floaters as a signal to barges, vessels, and speedboats. Additional efforts include the use of strong ropes to avoid the cutting of nets. The study recommends implementing sustainable solutions, such as establishing gear recycling programmes, promoting biodegradable materials, and introducing reforms to incentivize fishers towards proper disposal practices for end-of-life fishing gears. Furthermore, education and community outreach are essential to increasing awareness and engagement in sustainable waste management.

How to cite: Ekperusi, A., Marcus, G., and Kele, P.: Assessing the Disposal Methods for End-of-Life Fishing Gears in Coastal Communities in Nigeria and its Implications on the Blue Economy, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-223, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-223, 2025.

The drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (dFADs) are fishing gears that are not used by fishermen in French Polynesia which Exclusie Econimic Zone (EEZ) occupies an area of about 5 million square kilometer. More and more dFADs from foreign purse seiner vessels are found in French Polynesia EEZ as reported by fishermen. Some of them drift through the area and leave the EEZ but some of them strand on islands before damaging the coral reef and may be introducing new species collected during their journey. After an attempt to count the stranded dFADs on some islands, we realize that it is too costly and time consuming, if we have to do the counting on the 118 islands. We proposed here to apply a lagrangian model to follow the drifts of artificial dFADS in order to estimate the number of dFADs that would reach the islands. Because the appendages of the dFADs have various length, three simulations were performed with three velocity fields. Statistics regarding the number of dFADs entering French Polynesia EEZ as well as the number of dFADs stranded on islands are estimated. Most of the stranded dFADs are found in the Tuamotu archipelago for all simulations but with varying numbers. The number of stranded dFADs in the Marquesas archipelago varies considerably between the three simulations while very few changes are observed for the Society and Austral archipelagoes. The impacts of dFADS on the local fishery and on the island environment will be discussed.

How to cite: Raapoto, H., Maamaatuaiahutapu, K., and Tanetoa, M.: Drifting Fish Aggregating Devices entering French Polynesia EEZ a modelling approach, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-231, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-231, 2025.

Understanding the pathways of fishing gear in the ocean is essential for effective management and mitigation, yet remains challenging due to the complex interaction of ocean currents, diverse debris sources, types, and environmental factors. The Southern Bay of Biscay, a dynamic marine ecosystem supporting key economic activities like fishing, serves as an ideal case study for exploring these pathways. This study combines process-based numerical modeling and observational data of fishing activity and beached litter to assess the movement of fishing debris, providing insights into its origin, dispersal patterns, and fate. We used MARS-3D hydrodynamic model outputs as ocean-forcing inputs for the Lagrangian particle tracking model TrackMPD. Data on fishing gear deposited along eight beaches, combined with fishing activity records, were used to retrospectively and prospectively estimate the trajectories of floating litter (e.g., net fragments from trawler repairs and losses at sea) and settling litter (e.g., fibers from the fragmentation and degradation of set gillnets), and establish source-to-sink relationships under winter and summer conditions in 2023. Retrospective simulations indicated that, during summer, particles washed up on the beaches of the Spanish Basque Country followed similar pathways, originating from the western Bay of Biscay and offshore the Gironde estuary. Plastics along the French coast sourced from nearby estuarine and coastal systems. In winter, strong surface currents from the far western Bay of Biscay emerged as the main drivers of washed-up particles along the coast. Prospective simulations identified the Arcachon Bay area as a main hotspot of litter from fishing activity in winter. In summer, this zone remained affected, with additional accumulation observed along the eastern shoreline of the Spanish Basque Country. Simulations of sinking fibers suggest that they stayed within the shelf region, although ongoing simulations of different resuspension scenarios will further clarify their potential for remobilization and transport under varying seasonal hydrodynamic conditions. These findings provide valuable insights into the transboundary movement and fate of ocean plastic pollution, highlighting the interconnectedness of coastal regions and the challenges of mitigating pollution across national boundaries.

* Funded by PNM-BA, the French Water Agency Adour-Garonne, the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region, the French OFB, the Spanish MCIU (FIERA project PID2021- 128600OB-I00), the Basque Government (consolidated research group IT1743-22) and Euskampus Fundazioa (PLASFITO project and the Laboratory for Transboder Cooperation LTC AquEus).

How to cite: Jalon-Rojas, I., Franco, J., Ruiz-González, V., Dusacre, E., Cajaraville, M. P., and Cachot, J.: The Journey of Fishing Gear in the Southern Bay of Biscay: From Source to Sink and Vice Versa, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-741, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-741, 2025.

Every year, tons of fishing gear are discarded to the ocean globally, inflicting severe threats to marine habitats and wildlife, while causing economic damage to the fishing sector. The timely tracking and recovery of lost fishing gear can minimize this risk, help preserve our oceans and boost the fishing sector. Modern fishing gear, primarily composed of non-biodegradable plastics, if abandoned, lost or discarded (ALDFG) persist in marine environments, and contribute to marine pollution, with several harmful impacts, such as ghost fishing, habitat degradation, and microplastic release. In this presentation we will explain how the NETTAG+ project, aligned with SDG 14.1, the NETTAG+ is developing innovative, sustainable solutions to manage and mitigate the adverse effects of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). In collaboration with the fishing industry, scientists, and NGOs, NETTAG+ focuses on three core areas: i) preventing marine litter derived from fisheries, organizing several awareness actions from fishers to fishers; ii) avoiding the loss of fishing gear, through the development of technology for fishing gear location with acoustic tags; and iii) mitigating the existing ALDFG by development of technology for detection and removal of ALDFG. These solutions collectively aim to reduce the release of microplastics and harmful chemicals in marine ecosystems, while minimizing the occurrence and impact of ghost gear through advanced tracking and retrieval technologies. The NETTAG+ project follows the approach “from fishers to fishers”, where fishers associations/representatives, which are partners of the Consortium, are organizing awareness activities for their associates to promote best practices regarding litter management fostering the prevention of litter produced by the fisheries sector. Moreover, fishers are actively involved in the development of the solutions, including the technological solutions. This collaboration fosters ownership and enhances the likelihood of influencing behavioural changes among fishers, ultimately facilitating the achievement of our project objectives. Through the active involvement of fishing communities, NETTAG+ project strives to transform the role of the fishing sector in environmental preservation, empowering fishers to take proactive responsibility in combating marine pollution. This paradigm shift recognizes fishers as essential stewards of sustainable marine practices, contributing to a cleaner, more resilient Ocean in line with the global conservation goals.

How to cite: Ramos, S., Almeida, M., Viegas, D., and Sousa, L. and the NETTAG+ project consortium: Empowering fishers to tackle marine pollution: NETTAG+ solutions, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-808, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-808, 2025.

Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) has a great impact on marine ecosystems. This is not only due to the direct contribution to marine litter production with particular emphasis on plastics but also to the effects of ghost fishing.

The Nettag+ project aims to reduce these impacts by acting on three main lines of action: prevention, avoidance, and mitigation. In the first line, direct action and collaboration with fishers and nature protection organizations around Europe aim to establish the fishermen community as guardians of the ocean. These actions with active fishers' collaboration range from training and dissemination activities related to marine litter and ocean protection to direct measures in day-to-day work to minimize and recover litter from the sea.

In the prevention line, an acoustic tag designed explicitly for the location of ALDFG was developed in collaboration with research institutions and fishing gear manufacturers. It can be integrated into the fishing equipment for future tracking and recovery. This tool can reduce lost fishing gear retrieval costs and is complemented with robotic solutions to support retrieving operations.

To mitigate the effects of existing untagged ALDFG, multisensorial  detection algorithms are being developed to detect and map ALDFG on the sea and to take advantage of autonomous and robotic systems to perform this task.

How to cite: Viegas, D., Martins, A., Neasham, J., Ramos, S., and Almeida, M.: NETTAG+ - Towards a cleaner fishing practice and reducing the environmental impact of lost fishing gear, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1392, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1392, 2025.