A PROJECT encouraging fishermen to catch rubbish at sea has been given the go-ahead for another three years.
The Fishing For Litter scheme, which provides bags and skips to help boats land the litter they catch, has been judged such a success it has been offered funding to run until 2014.
Organisers now hope the cash boost will mean more fishermen and harbours in west Penwith sign up to the voluntary programme.
Jointly funded by various groups including Defra, Cornwall Council and the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation, Fishing For Litter has seen more than 360 tonnes of litter removed from UK seas since it began.
Dozens of Newlyn-based boats, including the Crystal Sea and the fleet of beamers owned by W Stevenson and Sons, are among the 100 boats currently taking part in the South West.
Those behind the environmental initiative hope that as well as removing junk from the sea, it highlights the problem of marine rubbish.
Earlier this month EU fisheries chief Maria Damanaki revealed plans for a trial project in the Mediterranean that would see fishermen paid to catch plastic, not fish, in a bid to boost boats' income.
Voluntarily
But Sarah Crosbie, co-ordinator for Fishing For Litter South West, is keen to stress those taking part in Cornwall all do so voluntarily.
The scheme's funding is spent on hard-wearing bags to hold the litter caught at sea, and on dedicated skips at the harbours taking part.
"The project provides the bags and covers waste costs," she said. "Fishermen and harbours volunteer their time and all operational waste generated on board continues to go through the normal harbour waste management systems."
Paul Trebilcock of the Cornish Fish Producers' Organisation said fishermen were "custodians of the marine environment" who had brought in rubbish from sea for as long as he could remember – for free.
He said as the scheme made it "easy, simple and cost-neutral for them to out the rubbish ashore", the industry was glad to do it on a voluntary basis as they did not want to leave potentially hazardous waste items floating on the waves.
"The primary role of fishermen as they see it is to catch fish, and their secondary role is as custodians of the marine environment ," he said, adding that the scheme was totally different to the one being proposed for the Mediterranean:
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