Discarded fishing nets recycled for eco surfboards

In 2018 research showed 46-70% of surface debris in some areas in the world’s oceans is fishing gear

BANGKOK/TAMIL NADU (Reuters) - When the sun rises over the horizon in the southern Indian village of Kuthenkuly, Jesuraja and his fellow fishermen prepare to set off for a new day at sea.

But they are not looking for fish - they are searching for abandoned fishing nets floating in the Indian Ocean.

Also known as "ghost nets", this often nylon plastic netting has caused serious environmental damage. It entangles marine life and degrades into microplastics that are eaten by fish, entering the food chain. It also snags boat propellers and damages engines.

Non-profit animal welfare organisation World Animal Protection has said more than 100,000 whales, dolphins, seals and turtles get caught in abandoned or lost fishing nets, lines, traps and lobster pots each year. Such fishing nets can take up to 600 years to break down, it says.

In 2018 research showed 46-70% of surface debris in some areas in the world’s oceans is fishing gear, it said.

However Dutch company DSM has teamed up with around 1,000 fishermen in India to retrieve the nets from the seas and recycle them.

"By extracting these nets from the sea, we in a way are cleaning the sea and earning some money. It also helps in enhancing our catch," Jesuraja told Reuters.

"Usually these nets get stuck in the propeller of the boat and damage our machines when we go fishing," he added.

Fishermen see their incomes rise by more than 20 percent each month in the scheme. Once collected, the nets are then transported inland where they are cleaned, cut up and prepared, mainly by a team of women, for recycling.

In the city of Pune, in the west of the country, the nylon nets are then recycled and turned into plastic granules. They are then exported around the world.

"We are taking out the fishing nets which are out of use, bringing them out from the ocean, cleaning it up and granulating it," said the operations director of DSM Engineering Plastic.

"We do all stringent quality checks, produce it in a high-quality hardware with stringent process parameters and make it into a product which is fit for application. Like, for example, eco-friendly surfing boards," he added.

Once such user of the granules is surfboard company Starboard based in Bangkok. They use them to make surfboard parts such as fins, fin boxes, stand up paddleboard pumps and other surfing parts.

Mainly made of polystyrene or polyurethane and covered in resin, surfboards are far from environmentally friendly. Many environmental advocates in fact consider them ‘toxic’ due to their non-degradable materials.

But in recent years the surfing community has been making efforts to make the sector more sustainable. Starboard founder Svein Rasmussen said he uses granule-based parts in his products.

"We try to see where we can place them in great places, visible places in our products from boards to fins to bags," he said.

"People can see them and understand that actually recycling is like a little luxury, really," he added.

Starboard also makes the main body of its surfboards from recycled plastic waste. But technology does not currently allow for the mass production of surfboards using recycled material alone.

Meanwhile the Indonesian island of Bali is well known for its challenging waves and good surfing conditions. But it is battling against plastic waste as it chokes its rivers and coastal areas.

Waves bring in tonnes of rubbish ashore from the ocean each year as sandy beaches transform into virtual landfill each morning.

Owner of Ripcurl School of Surf on the island, Jonni Deaker Morrison, uses eco-friendly boards and thinks manufacturers and surfers should want surfing to become more sustainable.

"We need to educate the riders, the surfers and we also need to educate the companies themselves that they can create sustainable programmes and be responsible for the products they’re using in their surfboards," he said.

Globally, some eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, according to the U.N. Environment Programme.

The world produced about 242 million tons of plastic waste in 2016, according to the World Bank. China and Indonesia are the biggest offenders, a study in the journal Science has shown.