We are pleased to share with you a booklet on fishing net pollution in water bodies (in Russian), which was prepared as a result of an expert discussion on «Fishing net pollution in water bodies: reasons, consequences, and solutions» held on December 9, 2021. The event was organized by Lake Baikal Foundation. The discussion took place within the Baikal Without Fishnets project.
The booklet consists of three sections. The first is devoted to Russian and foreign projects aimed at solving the problem of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear. The second covers the issues of legal regulation and the need for change in Laws. The third section is dedicated to the consequences of fishing net pollution from a scientific point of view. The booklet contains photographs, pictures, and maps. It can be useful to everyone who works with the problem of fishing net pollution.
Fourteen experts from different sectors of society took part in the preparation of the booklet: representatives of state authorities from the Angaro-Baikal Territorial Administration of the Federal Fisheries Agency, representatives of the prosecutor’s office from the East-Baikal department of the Baikal Interregional Environmental Prosecutor Office, employees from the FGBU «Zapovednoe Pribaikalie» who represent the voice of natural conservation areas, representatives of the scientific and the academic societies from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, the Severtsov Institute for Ecology and Evolution RAS, the St. Petersburg Scientific Research Center for Environmental Safety RAS, the Moscow State University, as well as representatives from NGOs – from the Irkutsk Regional Environmental Non-governmental organization «Depth of responsibility», from the Baltic Fund for Nature, the association in the field of ecology and environmental protection «Separate Collection» in Cherepovets, and the autonomous non-profit environmental organization «Friends of the Baltic».
Despite the fact that all participants of the discussion recognised the problem of fishing net pollution in water bodies, experts proposed different ways to solve the problem. This information can be found in the booklet. In order to summarize all of the suggestions, Lake Baikal Foundation staff have begun to work on the development of a resolution to address the problem of sunken fishing nets.
We express our gratitude to all the experts who took part in the preparation of the booklet, as well as to all participants of the fruitful discussion!