Fishing and marine litter: online COMMON discussion in Maremma, Italy

From the Argentario to Follonica, the Euro-Mediterranean COMMON project, coordinated by Legambiente, aims to give a voice to the operators of the sea, to identify priorities and measures that can mitigate the impacts

To participate, simply register at this link

The problem of marine and coastal litter has now turned into a real emergency that local administrations and companies in the sea supply chain, from fishing, fishing tourism and diving have to face every day. All of this has an evident impact on both the environment and local economies: on marine and coastal species that are threatened daily by waste exchanged for food; on the food chain of the numerous fish species that ingest micro and nano plastics; on the work of those who every day have to free their nets not only from fish, but also from waste; on the tourist supply chain of the sea, such as fishing tourism or diving where the seabed is threatened with loss of biodiversity.

Legambiente thanks to the Eu funded Common project (COastal Management and Monitoring Network for tackling marine litter in Mediterranean sea) wants to bring attention to this issue by inviting the categories of interest to a working table which, due to the Covid-19 emergency, will be held on a virtual platform on Saturday November 7 starting at 9.30.

The invitation is addressed to all direct stakeholders (fishermen, diving, Flag, trade associations and local administrations) and to participate, simply register by Friday 6 November on this form which will allow to receive the link and the instructions to access both from a PC and from the comfort of a smartphone.

It is a question of bringing their experience to deepen the many problems related to marine litter at various levels:

- The "magnitude" of the problem: what and how much fishermen collect
- The economic impact: damage to the tools, the time this issue takes up, the effect on the catch, the depletion of the seabed
- Any measures that the categories consider priority for the management of the sea issues
- Positive experiences of which they want to be spokespersons also related to the aspects of using more sustainable materials