Protecting the climate and the environment is paramount
This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 2 2022.
For many centuries, fishing was usually geared towards large catch quantities and greater efficiency. Today, in times of growing environmental awareness and increasing concern about the global climate, other topics are also gaining in importance. The fishing industry and fishing technologies should be more sustainable and climate-friendly and protect the environment better. What ideas and concepts exist to help implement these requirements as soon as possible?
From steam engines to diesel engines – the range and extent of the fishing industry have dramatically expanded at least since wind-independent propulsive engines were adopted on fishing vessels. Critics claim that this has made the fishing industry lose its sustainable character and become destructive. Thanks to their powerful engines, trawlers can travel to fishing grounds further and faster and, despite having smaller crews, can deploy larger nets at ever greater depths. Advances in positioning technology ensure that today even the smallest schools of fish can be found in the great expanses of the oceans. What was once celebrated as success is today met with incomprehension and rejection, because the signs of regional overfishing are unmistakable. Even within the fishing sector, hardly anyone disputes that healthy wild fish stocks are of enormous significance for the economic development of numerous countries and for human food security. Worldwide, the fishing industry contributes almost 300 billion US dollars to global GDP. This could be even more if resources were managed and used sustainably. Fish and seafood are among the most frequently traded foods in the world. Some 35 to 38 percent of global production enters international trade, of which more than half comes from developing countries. A fragile construct that is being put at increasing risk by overfishing, IUU fishing, harmful subventions, environmental pollution and climate change. The World Bank estimates that the global fishing industry could generate around 83 billion more US dollars each year through a comprehensive transformation towards more sustainability.
It is now common knowledge that healthy ecosystems are the key to the ongoing productivity of the fishing industry. The problem is not lack of knowledge, but rather implementing it in practice. Although the pressure to act is increasing due to climate change, marine pollution and the growing global population, the political system often reacts with hesitation and without the required consistency. The UN sustainable development goals (SDG 14) also continue to refer to the need for sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems. Those with political responsibility are called upon to introduce responsible guidelines and practices that contribute to reaching this goal. SDG sub-paragraph 14.4 shows them what direction to pursue by reminding them of the urgent need to curb overfishing and suggests eliminating harmful subsidies that contribute to illegal and unreported fishing. Particularly since 84 percent of fishing subsidies tend to only benefit large fishing fleets anyway. The EU is also trying to reduce overcapacity in fishing fleets; direct and indirect subsidies such as fuel tax exemptions are to be removed.
The EU is seeing the first successes of its new fishing policy
The commitment of the EU Commission to an environmentally sustainable and economically viable fishing industry is shown in the realignment of the Common Fisheries Policy, the EU biodiversity strategy and the European Green Deal. The strict catch quota specifications in accordance with scientific recommendations from fisheries management have led to a significant recovery in fish stocks. There are 50% more fish in the waters of the North-East Atlantic today than in 2003, and fleet segments have become more profitable in recent years. The requirement to bring the whole catch to shore however, which is aimed at avoiding discards, is not yet being implemented everywhere with the necessary strictness and consistency. The suggestion of redistributing the allowable catches, i.e. the awarding of catch quotas, has also met with significant resistance in some EU member states. Until now, the total allowable catches (TAC) in the EU have been distributed between the countries on the basis of historical catch quantities. Any country that fished a lot in the past therefore automatically received the right to continue to fish disproportionately more. This system of relative stability which was introduced in 1982 has, however, in the opinion of many experts, created false incentives and contributed to European fish stocks being overfished for a long time. If one fishing country was allocated a high quota for its fishing industry, the others could also demand high catch quotas, as – according to the principle of relative stability – these were to be kept constantly in the same proportions. This frequently led to biologically feasible catch quantities being exceeded. The new suggestion is based on the distribution of catch quantities based on sustainability criteria. Each country and each fishing industry will be evaluated individually for this purpose. Those who selectively use environmentally friendly fishing gear, do not require a lot of energy, provide a safe working environment and follow all of the regulations receive the highest number of points and therefore a larger share of the fishing rights. Any country that tolerates fishing methods that are not selective or does not do enough to tackle illegal fishing could even end up with no fishing rights. It remains to be seen how successful this new regulation will be; resistance to the idea is high.
The EU-wide obligatory designation of origin for fish is to be expanded. This serves to provide information to consumers and would also be an effective instrument to combat IUU fishing. An additional measure being considered across the EU is a Green Certificate for professional fishers. They would receive a kind of basic education in marine ecology which could even become a prerequisite for obtaining a fishing licence. It is hoped that these training courses would result in fishers acting with more awareness of protecting and preserving aquatic ecosystems and fish stocks. Because currently less than one percent of the world’s oceans are protected from fishing, environmental organisations are also calling for the expansion of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). They should be formed into a global network that can contribute towards the recovery of marine ecosystems and the preservation of marine biological diversity.
Climate protection is also a hot topic for the fishing industry
In contrast to these ideas, which may only be realised well into the future, the reduction of CO2 emissions is already part of the day-to-day operations of many fishing companies. Even if only to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. Since there is no binding international standard for calculating the carbon footprint, the ISO 14064 standard is usually used as a blueprint. The new standard ISO 2948 (Carbon Footprint for Seafood – Product Category Rules for Fish, CFP-PCR) also defines the product categories that are required for calculating and effectively communicating to the public the CO2 footprint for seafood.
The carbon footprint is not an end in itself however, but rather offers a basis on which to take targeted climate protection measures such as restricting global warming to a maximum of 2 degrees. Multiple studies show that the largest sources of CO2 emissions in the fishing industry by far are the fuel for fishing vessels and the energy used for refrigerating the fish caught. These are the two areas in which the greatest climate effects can be achieved, if consistently pursued. Despite some good ideas, however, their concrete implementation remains difficult, because the alternatives must be both available and reliable, as well as not harmful to the environment and affordable. It also takes corresponding infrastructure to be able to offer low-carbon, or even better, no-carbon alternative energy sources everywhere in the required quantities. In a 2018 study (“Nature Climate Change”), Robert W.R. Parker and his colleagues calculated that the fishing industry had consumed 40 billion litres of fuel and generated a total of 179 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent in the year 2011 (4% of global food production). The emissions from the global fishing industry rose by 28% between 1990 and 2011, although catches barely increased during this period. The development of more environmentally friendly fuel for fishing vessels is therefore a real challenge, especially as currently hardly more than 600 vessels (including trading vessels and cruise liners) in the world’s fleets use alternative fuels.
The Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 does not state any goals for the greenhouse gas emissions of vessels. In 2018, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) published its climate strategy for international shipping. According to this, the average CO2 intensity (CO2 per tonne mile) should be reduced by at least 40% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. These specifications are mainly targeted towards trade vessels, but they also provide a general direction for fishing vessels. By now it should be clear to all participants that the decarbonisation of vessel propulsion requires bold ideas, huge efforts and investment. Small cosmetic adjustments such as more energy-efficient designs will not be enough on their own. In order to be able to meet the requirements for 2050, the global fishing industry must also change to alternative fuels and new sources of energy. Many of the solutions available today are not yet mature or are not suitable for use at sea. There is therefore a great need for research. The European Parliament in its European Green Deal also calls for decisive action on stopping the use of heavy fuel oils in shipping and for more initiatives around the development of emissions-free vessels.
The search for alternative maritime fuels worldwide
Electric engines, such as are favoured in road traffic on land, only make sense at sea for a limited number of areas such as ferry traffic, because these vessels dock regularly and can be recharged. The Norwegian boat building company Selfa Arctic did introduce the world’s first electrically operated fishing boat in August 2015, that is intended to operate primarily in waters directly off the coast. To be precise, this is not a purely electric boat, but is more like a hybrid variant, since it still has one diesel engine on board for safety. Many experts doubt whether alternative fuels such as hydrogen or ammonia have the required energy density for use on fishing vessels, which often spend several days or weeks at sea. However, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) could also be used as a short-term interim solution until better-suited alternative engines are developed. However, that would be a dead end on the way to decarbonisation, because both are of course fossil fuels.
The Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten announced in 2018 that it would be using biogas generated from fish waste to power its vessels. Liquid biogas does reduce air pollution from vessels at sea, but it is still only a partial solution, because the manufacture of the gas on land is not entirely environmentally friendly. Hurtigruten wanted to operate six vessels with biogas, LNG and batteries in 2021. Fish waste also plays a central role in the Salmo project of the British biofuel technology developer Green Fuels. Waste biomass from salmon farming is converted to drop-in fuels that are suitable for ship diesel engines. If the bio-diesel is mixed with conventional fuels, it can even be used in the engines and fuel systems without modifications. Green Fuels is advancing with a similar project in Vietnam based on pangasius waste. With average fish mortality rates of 20%, there are approximately 400,000 tonnes of energy-rich pangasius waste material available there for the manufacture of biofuels. The use of fish waste for powering vessels is highly controversial however, since this raw material is also in high demand from fishmeal producers. Where the material ends up will be finally decided by the market and prices.
Researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an efficient and economical process for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into ethanol without expensive platinum catalysts, that can be used at an industrial scale. Although the suitability of ethanol for powering vessels has not yet been finally clarified, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) sees a lot of potential here. According to an EMSA study, it would be a useful alternative fuel for vessels, since ethanol burns cleanly, is sulphur-free and is biodegradable. It will probably be some time before it is actually used at sea, however. It currently seems almost as though there is no way to get away from “good old diesel” for powering vessels. In this respect, it is good news that scientists from Montana State University have discovered the tree fungus Gliocladium roseum in the Patagonian rainforest, which produces chemicals that are largely identical to diesel and can be used in diesel engines. In contrast to normal diesel however, fungus diesel is environmentally friendly and does not cause any air pollution. Another option would be processing plastic waste into propellants for diesel-operated vessels. A factory is currently being established in Amsterdam port that aims to convert around 35,000 tonnes of plastic waste into more than 30 million litres of fuel per year. And there is another idea worth listening to: instead of using corn and sugar cane for the manufacture of bio-diesel, algae can also be used for this purpose. Algal biofuel or algal oil does release CO2 when burned like fossil fuels, but only as much as was previously removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Both macroalgaes such as kelp and microalgaes, which are easily cultivated, can be used for this purpose. In 2017, Synthetic Genomics and ExxonMobil made a breakthrough in the development of innovative biofuels. Through genetically engineered changes, they were able to double the lipid content of a strain of the microalga Nannochloropsis gaditana from 20 percent to 40–55 percent. There have therefore been encouraging advances in the area of environmentally friendly vessel propellants.
Lots of small measures will add up to success
But, despite their overwhelming importance, fuels are only one part of the puzzle to be solved to achieve a more environmentally friendly and sustainable fishing industry. The entire spectrum extends from more selective fishing gear that prevents bycatch and does as little damage to the marine environment as possible, up to tiny technical details of vessel equipment and new materials. For example, due to the design of vessel propellers in the form of a kort nozzle, the flow losses at the ends of the propeller blades can be reduced, which saves propulsive energy and increases the efficiency of the propeller. Escape windows and sorting grids in nets offer undersized fish and non-target species the chance to quickly escape from the fishing gear again. In longline and hook and line fishing, reinforced so-called protective hooks are being used that do not have any barbed hooks. These ensure that fish that escape from the hooks do not have any permanent injuries. Turtle excluders in trawl nets also operate according to the same idea. All are small but very important contributions to not overly endangering marine biodiversity.
Given the increasing problems of plastic waste and above all microplastics in the world’s oceans, the use of biodegradable materials that decompose after some time in the water without harming the environment is gaining enormously in importance. This not only affects fishing nets, lines and angling lines, but also and to the same extent artificial bait, boots, chest waders, weather-proof clothing and other equipment that is practically indispensable at sea. Increasing attention is also being focused on the popular lead weights, which, for example, hang on the bottom edges of gillnets in order to stabilise the fishing gear in the water column. Lead is not only poisonous to humans, it is also dangerous for fish, because it causes physical damage and can also result in behavioural changes. Instead of poisonous lead, many manufacturers are already switching to non-dangerous materials such as brass, steel, tungsten or tin. Paints, varnishes and other coating materials must be chip-proof in order to prevent flakes of paint coming off that could be swallowed by fish and other marine animals.
Without wanting to let the fishing industry off the hook for occasional failures, even critics must admit that there is hardly any other group with more of an interest in protecting the seas and exploiting their resources sustainably than fishers themselves. There is therefore good reason to be confident that they will apply and implement all measures required to serve their basic interests. mk