Ottawa, Ontario — It is estimated that more than eight million metric tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year. These products never actually break down, except into smaller and smaller pieces that endanger marine life, pollute ecosystems and litter our beaches. Fishing nets and other fishing gear also contain several kinds of plastic, and abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear causes catastrophic impacts on wildlife and marine environments. This “ghost gear” continues to entangle wildlife for many decades, impacting species at risk and the prosperity of our fisheries.
That is why the Government of Canada is looking for innovative solutions and is engaging with small businesses to help clean up our oceans and waterways and minimize impacts of ghost gear. Seven plastics challenges are being launched via the Innovative Solutions Canada program, inviting Canadian small businesses to develop innovative technologies to reduce domestic plastic waste.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is specifically looking for Made in Canada innovations that will protect our marine environments and wildlife, and foster sustainable economic prosperity for generations to come. The following challenges are now open to Canadian businesses for submissions:
- To collect and remove ghost fishing gear and other marine debris from Canada’s oceans and waterways through a technology that can be deployed on existing vessels.
- To prevent ghost fishing and aquatic plastic pollution caused by Canadian fisheries and aquaculture industries by creating new fishing gear and gear technologies.
- To recycle glass fiber-reinforced plastic in an energy-efficient way which diverts as much waste from landfills as possible.
These challenges are part of the Government of Canada’s broader efforts to improve the management of plastics and address ghost gear as a top priority. As part of its G7 Presidency this year, Canada led the development of the Oceans Plastics Charter, an international effort to reduce plastics in our oceans. The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, also recently announced at the G7 meeting on Working Together on Climate Change, Oceans and Clean Energy in Halifax that Canada is committed to strengthening its domestic and international efforts to address marine litter and has become a signatory to the Global Ghost Gear Initiative.
Source : Government of Canada