The ‘AQUA-LIT Policy Recommendations’ report examines how to avert the discarding of litter in the marine environment related to the aquaculture industry. This document provides a set of recommendations to improve decision-making and to overcome the existing gaps, being its main objective to provide information to support policy-making of the marine litter problem in the aquaculture sector. This deliverable was elaborated having in consideration the main key findings and results of each of the three sea basins AQUA-LIT focuses on (the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea), as well as the project’s products and deliverables produced along the project, mainly the Learning Labs reports, the deliverables D.2.2. and D.2.3., and an extensive literature overview, including legislation and policy documents. Marine litter, including plastic, is an increasing concern globally, since it causes harm to marine environment, coastal communities, and maritime activities, along with effects on economics, human health and safety. Therefore, it is considered a large challenge, which needs to be tackled. Aquaculture and fishing activities are responsible for approximately 65% of the plastics released into the sea (Galgani, Hanke, & Maes, 2015). However, very few measures to reduce marine litter, current and proposed, are related to aquaculture. Aquaculture is an important economic activity under continuous expansion in many coastal and inland regions of the European Union. |
