Discarded Fishnet Collection Centres to come up in coastal districts of the central region

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will establish Discarded Fishnet Collection Centres in the coastal districts of Pudukottai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, and Thanjavur in the central region in an effort to combat marine litter and facilitate recycling of the discarded nets.

Work on setting up the centres has been initiated by the TNPCB officials in these districts with the selection of sites. This is a community-driven initiative of the TNPCB under which incentives would be provided to fishermen for the discarded nets collected from them.

The initiative is to be implemented under the TN-SHORE (Tamil Nadu Sustainably Harnessing Ocean Resources and Blue Economy) Project funded by the World Bank.  One of the objectives is pollution control by focussing on the management and reduction of plastic waste in coastal and marine environments and effectively manage the discarded fishing gear. 

The four coastal districts have sizeable fisherfolk population which uses mechanised and country boats for fishing. The site for the establishment of the centre in Pudukottai district has been identified at Kottaipattinam village from where several mechanised boats operate. The centre is to come up on an area measuring about 1,500 sq. ft., said an official. Pudukottai district has a 42-km long coastline starting from Kattumavadi to Enathi with 32 coastal villages in between.

The site for the centre in Nagapattinam district has been identified near the fishing harbour in Nagapattinam town while in Tiruvarur district, the site has been identified in Muthupet, said the officials. The TNPCB authorities at Chennai have been intimated about the sites identified for the centres, the officials said.

This initiative comes in the wake of an order issued by the State government in July last year based on a proposal of the TNPCB for the establishment of the Discarded Fishnet Collection Centres as a sustainable and community-driven approach in the 14 coastal districts in the State. 

The objective is to collect the discarded and ghost nets from the fishermen and recycle them. Under this initiative, incentives would be provided to fishermen for the discarded nets collected from them and sent for recycling, said an official. The discarded fishing nets left in the sea could pose a serious threat to marine species which could get entrapped in them besides affecting the marine eco-systems. This initiative is aimed at addressing this crucial issue and tackling marine litter, the officials said.