CLS (Collecte Location Satellites) teams have developed a system for connecting fishing gear by satellite, with the aim of reducing ocean pollution. According to this subsidiary of the CNES (National Center for Space Studies), 640,000 tonnes of nets, lines, life vests and other ropes are lost or abandoned in the oceans by the fishing industry each year.
It is estimated that “ghost” fishing equipment represents between 70 and 80% of macro plastic waste from the oceans.
“The satellite fishing gear monitoring program therefore firstly has an ecological and environmental aspect by limiting the proliferation of plastic waste, but it will also make it possible to optimize the fishing industry”, details the CLS.
The device will limit the loss of fishermen’s equipment and save them fuel by reducing the search time. They will therefore reduce their carbon footprint but also the time spent at sea and the risks that go with it.
With the support of CNES and Ifremer (French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea), the company has developed a chip which, attached to fishing gear, transmits a signal to a constellation of satellites for localization and information gathering. The data is then transmitted to the community attached to the project, including the fishermen.
“We have already equipped more than 15,000 fishermen’s boats with beacons of this type,” assures CLS.
The satellite fishing equipment monitoring program is carried out in collaboration with the Var Departmental Committee for Marine Fisheries and Marine Breeding (CDPMEM). “This project will greatly facilitate the lives of fishermen” rejoices Pierre Morera, president of the CDPMEM of Var.
“For tuna and swordfish, for example, we use drifting longlines and we don’t have very effective tools to find them. The tag system will allow them to be located easily and will save us time. ”
The president of the committee refutes the responsibility of professional fishermen in the pollution linked to the equipment. “Fishermen have no interest in losing their nets, it is very expensive and it takes hours of assembly work. When that happens, most of the time it’s a big freighter who hasn’t seen the net cut it in half. Its signal no longer works and the fisherman cannot find it ”.
Because of this, all professional fishermen lose 20 to 30 fishing signals per year. This is where the CLS project is important and will help improve our performance – Pierre Morera, president of the CDPMEM du Var.
The launch of the project is scheduled for mid-June. As a first step, around twenty fishing gear will be fitted out in the Var. The precise date is not yet fixed, the actors of the project will have to define the right weather window to deploy the beacons.
If the tests are successful, the program could extend to different oceans of the globe.
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