Use of biodegradable plastic materials in gillnet and longline fisheries

Plastic is among the most common types of marine litter, and fisheries represent one of the sources of plastic pollution in the marine environment by abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG). Due to use of plastic materials in fishing gear construction, such ALDFG, including passive fishing gears, has a considerable negative impact on the marine environment. Use of biodegradable plastic materials in fishing gears have a potential to reduce marine plastic pollution and ghost fishing. However, for the new material to be used in commercial fisheries, it should preferably provide similar performance to the fishing gear made of common, non-biodegradable material so that it would not compromise profitability of the industry and gain acceptance in the fishing sector. Therefore, this thesis presents results from five research studies evaluating the performance during fishing with the gear made of recently developed biodegradable polybutylene succinate-co-adipate-co-terephthalate (PBSAT) plastic material in gillnet and longline fisheries.