Site-visit in Smögen

Last week, MARELITT Baltic partners from the Marine Center in Simrishamn municipality, visited a small local company called Fiskareföreningen Norden. 
Sixten Söderberg, founder and owner of the company, informed about an effort to establish a municipal sorting station that can handle several types of plastic waste – including retrieved derelict fishing gear.

Fiskareföreningen Norden is located in Smögen which is a small fishing community on the Swedish west-coast. The company has its roots in traditional fishing gear manufacturing but due to a strong environmental engagement, the company is now devoted to find more sustainable ways to produce fishing gears.

Regarding some categories of fishing gears, like end-of-life or badly damages trawls, the company is reusing 80 percent of the old gears to make new products. There amongst, trawls, sports and safety nets.

Sixten Söderberg, founder and owner of Fiskareföreningen Norden, has been very involved in the work towards the reuse of fishing gear and recycling of plastics. Together with the local municipality, he has raised the issue of establishing a municipal sorting station, that can handle several types of plastic waste.

–Thanks to this strong engagement, Smögen will probably be the first harbour with the proper capacity to handle and recycle retrieved derelict fishing gear, says Vesa Tschernij, project leader of MARELITT Baltic.