AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Life On Land
KEYWORDS
fishing, pollution, oceans
COUNTRY
Spain
DESIGNED BY
Joan Farré, Roberto Pla & Alejandro Plasencia.
WEBSITE
http://www.alejandroplasencia.com
THE REMORA SYSTEM
Fishing nets that biodegrade so they don’t pollute the sea.
Remora is a system used to reduce the volume of plastic soup floating in our seas as a byproduct of industrial fishing and the “ghost net” phenomenon. The system consist of four elements - a purse net, RFID Tags, a RFID reader and an app for smartphones. These four elements work in synergy to rationalise the impact of industrial fishing. The new net is fabricated exactly like the existing nets, with the major difference that polyethylene is mixed with a d2w® additive - this causes the product to start biodegrading after 4 years compared to centuries like traditional nylon nets. The RFID Tags, RFID reader and app work together to also inform fishermen of breakages in the net, and where to find the net if it has been lost. A part from reducing plastic waste, Remora offers a life cycle that saves 54% of energy per net, from 470MJ to 194MJ.