Use of biodegradable driftnets to prevent ghost fishing: physical properties and fishing performance for yellow croaker

作者：Sung‐Yeon Kim, P. Kim, J. Lim, Haoxian An, Petri Suuronen · 发表于：Animal Conservation · 年份：2016 · DOI：10.1111/acv.12256 · 被引用次数：110 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties

When synthetic non-biodegradable fishing nets are lost, abandoned or discarded at sea, they may continue to catch fish and other animals for a long period of time. This phenomenon is known as ‘ghost fishing’. Biodegradable fishing nets, on the other hand, are intended to degrade or decompose after a certain period of time under water and thereby lose their ghost fishing capacity more quickly than conventional gear. A biodegradable net material, a blend of 82% polybutylene succinate (PBS) and 18% polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), was developed. We examined the physical properties and degradability of the biodegradable monofilament, and compared the fishing performance of driftnets made of conventional nylon and of the biodegradable material. When dry, conventional nylon monofilament exhibited a greater breaking strength and elongation than biodegradable monofilament of the same diameter. When wet, the biodegradable monofilament exhibited a stiffness of c. 1.5-fold than nylon monofilament. This suggests that a net made of the less flexible biodegradable monofilament would have lower fishing efficiency than conventional nets. The fishing performance comparisons between the biodegradable and conventional nylon nets, however, revealed similar catch rates for yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis. Biodegradable monofilament started to degrade after 24 months in seawater by marine organisms. We conclude that biodegradable netting may become a feasible alternative to conv...