Destination Zero Waste Sicily

Marine litter from fisheries is a major threat to the marine environment. Abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) causes significant damage to the seabeds and marine organisms. Furthermore, in popular tourist areas like Sicily, lost nets and gear have negative impacts on diving tourism, hindering the potential of sustainable tourism experiences because of the degradation of dive sites, entanglement hazards and loss of marine life.

Destination Zero Waste Sicily conducts a one-year feasibility study to identify challenges and develops an integrated strategy for managing ALDFG in the Sicilian archipelago. Additionally, it carries out ocean cleanups, pilot environmental tourism experiences and collaborates with artisans to repurpose fishing nets.

Sicily is one of the most significant biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean Basin. With its 14 small, inhabited islands, it offers a variety of marine and coastal habitats.

Unfortunately, abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear and nets represent a major problem. They significantly pollute the marine ecosystem, threaten marine life and degrade crucial habitats like seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are essential for maintaining biodiversity in Sicily's coastal waters.

This pollution not only impacts biodiversity but also has a considerable negative economic impact, including diminished diving tourism. The current regulatory framework and coordination around ALDFG is weak, with limited data collection on gear loss. Additionally, awareness and education amongst fishers is insufficient.

This one-year project maps challenges, barriers and gaps in the prevention, recovery and management of ALDFG. It also strengthens cross-sectoral collaboration with local stakeholders, including dive centres, fishing companies, artisans and tourism businesses. This builds a strong foundation for a longer-term programme, aimed at scaling up cleanup operations and circular economy solutions for fishing nets at a regional level in Sicily.

A call to action engages dive centres and fishers in locating and reporting ghost nets, providing data for preliminary mapping of ghost nets in Sicily. Two clean-up operations in two locations remove a minimum of 500 kg of plastic from the sea.

The project involves key stakeholders to facilitate their participation in a circular economy. It works with at least 15 businesses, including fishing companies, to raise awareness of the impact of ALDFG and identify solutions to prevent discarded fishing nets from being abandoned or lost in the sea. Additionally, local artisans pilot recycling and upcycling solutions for fishing nets.

The project summarises the key findings in a comprehensive feasibility study presented at a dedicated event bringing together partners and stakeholders.

It also develops sustainable tourism experiences and pilot activities, such as educational snorkelling and scuba diving and upcycling workshops, to promote environmental education and raise awareness amongst tourists about how sustainable tourism can contribute to marine conservation efforts.

PROJECT PARTNER

The Sicily Environment Fund (SEF) is a foundation aiming to protect and enhance biodiversity and ecosystems of Sicily. SEF was established in 2022 to support local environmental and conservation initiatives, helping communities becoming leaders in the transition towards long term climate resilience.

SEF vision is to generate positive environmental change by providing essential financial support to local partners for the implementation of grassroots projects, offering guidance and assistance to help communities maximize the effective use of resources, enabling the promotion of local initiatives to strengthen community awareness and amplify the visibility of local commitment, encouraging collaboration and create networking opportunities to ensure the greatest impact and designing and executing flagship programs to ensure the long-term sustainability of local initiatives.

The Sicily Environment Fund is a member of Conservation Collective, a global network of local foundations funding effective grassroots conservation initiatives to protect the environment, restore nature and safeguard against climate change.

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