2022 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 73-79
Marine plastic litter as well as CO2 emissions that cause global warming are both urgent problem that must be solved to prevent a global environmental and ecological disaster. Modern fishing gear is made predominantly of petroleum-based plastics, which are one of the main sources of marine plastic litter. There are concerns about the impact of microplastics as well as abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (so-called “ghost gear”) on ecosystems worldwide. In addition, rising sea temperatures in Japanese coastal waters caused by global warming are leading to fluctuations and declines in fishery resources. Fishery materials made of petroleum-based plastics are known to emit CO2 during production and incineration. In this paper, we describe the current state of recycling fishery materials as well as the development of biodegradable plastic for use in fishery materials, which could be an effective solution for reducing marine plastic litter and CO2 emissions.
