Fishing fleets offered cash to catch plastics

BRUSSELS (May 5, 1:10 p.m. ET) — The European Union commissioner for fisheries, Maria Damanaki, is set to unveil plans that will offer an alternative source of income to Europe’s fishing fleets — they will be offered cash for ‘catching’ plastic, rather than fish, in an attempt to tackle seaborne waste.

The plan is also aimed at mollifying the anger amongst Europe’s fishing industry, which is up in arms over plans that will see a ban of the wasteful practice of discarding edible but low-value fish at sea.

Fishing vessels that clear plastic will initially be subsidized by the EU but the hope is that the practice will become self-sustaining as the value of recycled plastics increases.