Fishing Net Biodegrades if Lost at Sea

[Judi Lynn]

Fishing Net Biodegrades if Lost at Sea
Dec 1, 2014 02:11 PM ET // by Tracy Staedter

Hundreds of thousands of animals, including marine mammals, sharks and birds, die as bycatch in fishing nets every year. According to the World Wildlife Fund, one dolphin or porpoise dies every two minutes from being entangled in fishing gear.

Engineering student Alejandro Plasencia wants to put an end to that. He developed the Remora system, which includes a biodegradable net, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, an RFID reader and a smartphone app.

Combined, this technology could help fishermen find and repair damaged nets, instead of abandoning them to become “ghost nets.”

The yellow radio frequency tags can be attached to a Remora net or to any other net for that matter.

“We were inspired by symbiotic relationships in nature, like the remora fish that attaches to sharks’ skin and keeps it clean by eating parasites, faeces and leftovers,” he told Dezeen.

If the net goes missing, the fisherman can track the gear using the RFID reader and a smartphone app, which helps pinpoint the location. The fisherman can retrieve the net to repair it or contact a government agency, such as Healthy Seas, to who will recover it.

More:
http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/fishing-net-biodegrades-if-lost-at-sea-141201.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1

I hope there are enough people of conscience in the business to make this work.

[shenmue]

1. Yay!

[Bill USA]

2. Jesus, give that guy an award!! fishing nets drifting around the seas are terrible things - as the

article points out. THanks for posting. recommended!

[eppur_se_muova]

3. About time someone did something ! Ghost nets have been a known hazard for decades. nt

[ffr]

4. Are there still fish remaining in large enough numbers for nets to be economical?

Good solution and , but net harvesting of fish populations is still raping our oceans.

And yes, my consumption of fish is nearly zero.