03. Aug 2020

This one-year pilot project sets out to study one of the main measures for preventing waste entering the oceans, and litter that is being collected from the ocean to be deposited in a proper manner. Previous studies document that the bulk of marine plastic liter in the Arctic derives from the fishing industry. The fishing industry acknowledges that while it has been part of the problem of marine plastic pollution, the attention to the problem has spurred both education and awareness. Central fishing industry actors realize that the fishing industry (and to an increasing degree the aquaculture industry) is steadily destroying its livelihood and reputation. This has led to a change of attitude and a desire to take on responsibility for reversing the problem. Attention towards generating less waste, no-tolerance for littering and a increasing motivation to clean up litter from the ocean, show results in that the proportion of fishing related litter found along the Arctic coasts is increasingly older material. The fishing industry need that harbors comply with international and national regulations facilitating waste reception system in harbors. While many harbors are equipped to accommodate fishers, still more lack the facilities. In the project, we map the fishing harbors in northern Norway, and seek to document and explain what factors lead to good, necessary waste reception facilities, and what might be the cause for non-compliance by harbor owners and managers. The pilot project will culminate in a larger research project application.