The marking of fishing gear will help support the implementation of IMO regulations which prohibit the discarding of such items into the sea, IMO's Fredrik Haag told the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) Committee on Fisheries (COFI 2018) meeting in Rome, Italy (9-13 July 2018). Mr. Haag was speaking ahead of the endorsement by the COFI of the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for the Marking of Fishing Gear. The Guidelines call for all fishing gear to be marked, so that, if abandoned, lost or discarded, they can be traced back to its original owner. IMO's MARPOL Convention Annex V prohibits the discharge of into the sea of all plastics, including synthetic fishing gear. The London Convention and Protocol on dumping of wastes at sea do not permit the dumping of fishing gear at sea.
Mr. Haag told the meeting that IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee had added a new output on marine litter on its agenda and looked forward to receiving submissions on this matter. The issue is also on the agenda of meetings of the Contracting Parties to the London Convention and Protocol, which have reviewed how wastes dumped at sea may contribute to the presence of marine litter. Discussions within these bodies have included the issue of abandoned or drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs), as well as polystyrene and Styrofoam buoys used in aquaculture, as sources of marine litter.
Mr. Haag also highlighted the ongoing collaboration between IMO and FAO on environmental issues, through the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, through UN-Oceans and through the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), a body which advises the UN system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection.