Ørsted establishes long-term action plan to tackle UK marine litter with the help of the fishing industry
Ørsted has made a long-term
commitment to help tackle the amount of marine litter in our seas. Working
closely with the fishing industry, Ørsted has established a Fishing for
Litter project at ports in Grimsby, Cromer, Kings Lynn, East-Runton and
Boston - with ambitions to expand the project across the English coast.
Fishing for Litter, run by KIMO UK, is a unique and award-winning project
working with the fishing industry to reduce the amount of plastic pollution
and marine litter in the sea and washing up on our beaches.
The idea is simple but effective. Participating fishing vessels are given
hardwearing bags to collect marine litter that is passively caught during
fishing activities. Full bags of litter can then be taken ashore for disposal
in dedicated skips. The project provides the bags, skips, and covers the
waste disposal costs. Participating fishers, and any harbour staff who
support the initiative, help to facilitate the disposal of marine litter
and volunteer their time. Ørsted’s Fishing Industry Representatives, who
have well established and often long-term relationships with fishers working
within the vicinity of Ørsted’s offshore wind farm projects, act as liaison
officers for the Fishing for Litter project.
Ørsted is passionate about achieving a sustainable future for all and are
confident that through the implementation of Fishing for Litter they can
provide fishers, who are best placed to help due to the nature of their
work, with the facilities to clean up our oceans, a priority for intergovernmental
organisations, Governments and NGOs globally.
Working alongside the fishing community and industry bodies, Ørsted’s
Fisheries Stakeholder Team designed and circulated a questionnaire to obtain
a better understanding of marine litter pollution and identify the best
practical solution for fishers. Circulated by the National Federation of
Fishermen’s Organisation (NFFO) and Holderness Fishing Industry Group
(HFIG), the surveys evidenced that the provision of bins and skips at local
ports would be the preferred solution to tackling the problem of marine
litter.
Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm has committed to funding Fishing
for Litter disposal facilities at up to six ports along the east of England
for the approximately 30-year life of the project. In making this long-term
commitment, Hornsea 3 hopes to contribute to the permanent establishment
of Fishing for Litter and provide fishers with the facilities to remove
litter from the marine environment and encourage environmental restoration.
Ørsted continues to expand its support of Fishing for Litter and is working
to set up disposal facilities along the west coast of England and north
into Yorkshire. Ørsted is also investigating potential options for the
recycling of the marine litter disposed in the provided skips.
Lara Leonard, Commercial Fisheries Manager at Ørsted, said: “Our
aim is to provide long term action and to work alongside fishing communities
to help them be at the forefront of the fight against marine litter. Over
the past couple of years, we’ve been engaging directly with fishers and
fishing organisations to make sure that we can facilitate an effective
and functional solution which works for them. Our main focus is to aid
and empower fishers to make a difference, while also building on the positive
relations with the fishing community who work within or near to our wind
farm sites.”
Julia Cant, KIMO UK Administrator & Fishing for Litter Project Coordinator,
said: “Ørsted’s continuing support provides a long term commitment
to annual costs, helping KIMO to realise its ambitions both to expand the
scheme more widely around the UK and to ensure that as much marine waste
as possible is disposed of responsibly through recycle/reuse. Hornsea 3’s
lifetime commitment to support Fishing for Litter will help secure the
project’s future, contributing directly to a reduction the amount of marine
litter in our oceans and an increased awareness of the ecological, environmental
and economic impacts that it causes. We have received an extremely positive
response and great support in all harbours visited, which has been very
encouraging and it has been tremendous to see the Fishing for Litter grow
as such pace.”
Mike Cohen, NFFO Deputy Chief Executive, said: “Fishing for Litter
schemes have been a great success in many areas and I am delighted by the
launch of this new initiative. Clean and healthy seas are hugely important
to all of us. No-one knows or cares more about this beautiful, dangerous,
fascinating environment than the fishermen who spend their lives around
it. Participating in a Fishing for Litter scheme is another way that fishermen
can look after these places that mean so much to them.”