
BLUENET, creating new life for abandoned, lost or discarded fishing and aquaculture gears to prevent marine litter generation.
According to experts, 4.6-12.7 million tonnes of marine litter are added every year to our seas and oceans (Jambeck et al, 2015).
The Strand 2 “Marine Litter” of Sustainable Blue Economy call (European Commission) is looking for actions that reduce, monitor and quantify, remove and recycle marine litter produced by sea-based sources, such as fishing and aquaculture, shipping or offshore installations.
BLUENET aims at reducing, by the end of 2020, the marine litter from sea-based sources and from the SE Bay of Biscay by 20-40 %.
The sources to be investigated are aquaculture and fisheries, and the amount and harmfulness of marine litter produced by their Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gears (ALDFG).
This will be achieve by

PROMOTING
PROMOTING
the proactivity of the sectors in combating marine litter, through ocean literacy.

PREVENTING
PREVENTING
The intentional and unintentional disposal of nets and ropes at the sea.

FACILITATING
FACILITATING
the recovery of nets and ropes to fishers and aquaculture operators.

UPCYCLING
UPCYCLING
by recycling them as raw materials for manufacturing new fishing and acualculture gears.
Our last news
BLUENET at the “Sustainable blue economy: a systemic approach to tackle marine litter” event organised by EASME-EMFF
BLUENET has participated with different EU-funded marine litter-related projects in the “Sustainable blue economy: a systemic approach to tackle marine litter” online event organised by EASME. Together with other fellow project managers, Mariana Mata Lara (AQUA-LIT), Fantina Madricardo (marGnet), Marisa Almeida (NetTag), Sonia [...]
BLUENET video goes online!
Sea-based sources of marine represent the 35% of items found floating (55% in terms of weight) in the coastal waters of the Bay of Biscay. In general terms, up to 1 million tonnes [...]
4th BLUENET progress meeting
Last December 18th, BLUENET team held the 4th progress meeting. This meeting takes place every six months to share and discussed the performed work and the steps to undertake in the near future. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, as happened [...]
Visit to the Basque fishing ports involved in BLUENET
During this week, we have visited the three fishing ports that collaborate with BLUENET Project. We started our visits at the port of Bermeo, where we checked the collection bins used by the fishers to [...]
Meet Gorka Markalain, our new recruit for BLUENET
Gorka Markalain ha joined BLUENET’s AZTI team as coordinator of the Fishing for Litter initiative in the Basque Country. He is experienced in Fishing for Litter initiatives, as he has been involved in similar activities with the fishing [...]
BLUENET at the “Innovative Projects for a Sustainable Blue Economy” event organised by the Directorate General for Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (DG MARE) and EASME
The BLUENET has participated in the “Innovative Project for a Sustainable Blue Economy” online event (https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/easme-home/join-easme-side-events-world-circular-economy-forum-online-2020) organised by the Directorate General for Maritime and Fisheries Affairs (DG MARE) and EASME as a side event to the World Circular Economy Forum (#WCEF). This event [...]