Gear marking pilot study in Indonesian small-scale gillnet fisheries with reference to FAO's draft Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear
This report describes a pilot project to test means and methods of marking gillnets in accordance with FAO’s Draft Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear (‘the Draft Guidelines’) and to explore the scope for a retrieval and recycling scheme.The pilot study was conducted in Indonesia small-scale gillnet fisheries.
The study found that the availability of environmentally friendly materials for markers and fisher safety when operating gear with physical markers were both key issues. The study also found that gear marking must be implemented in the context of broader measures for managing fishing gear and wider fisheries management measures as gear marking alone is unlikely to solve the issues of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing (ALDFG) and ghostfishing that are apparent in Indonesian small scale-scale and probably other similar fisheries, particularly in developing countries. Such measures could include fisher education and awareness raising, capacity building in general, spatial management of fishing effort and a circular economy approach to managing end-oflife gear.
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