GREENING THE FISHERIES IN THE ADRIATIC SEA THROUGH THE COLLABORATIVE NETWORKS OF SCIENTISTS AND FISHERMEN

Abstract

Environmental friendliness, energy efficiency and sustainability are very important issues in all aspects of human lives. This is particularly true for shipping, including all its modes like long-distance, short-sea and inland shipping, where environmental regulations have become very strict in the last decade. On the one hand, fishing vessels are slightly out of these regulations, but on the other hand greening the fishing fleets is highly promoted by the European Union funding bodies as well as by the local authorities, while at the same time fishing vessels are rather aged with low energyefficient fossil fuel-based power systems. This paper illustrates aims, activities and current outcomes of a network of scientists and fishery cooperatives oriented to improve environmental friendliness of fishing vessels in the Adriatic Sea. In that process, an extensive fuel consumption measurement campaign involving 10 fishing vessels (9 purse seiners and 1 trawler) is being conducted and is offering an insight into emissions of these vessels and their relation to the operative profile and benefit for the society expressed in amounts and type of the caught fish.