Stakeholder engagement report: An assessment of potential options for improved management of end-of-life fishing and aquaculture gear

Next steps

Commissioned research^[17] has shown that approximately 1000 tonnes of plastic end-of-life gear was recycled in Scotland in 2024/25. It also demonstrated there is potentially enough capacity in Scotland to recycle the annual arisings of plastic end-of-life gear from both sectors, should the pre-processing of the material be to a high enough standard that it is attractive to the commercial sector. Increased rates of recycling from these sectors combined with other improvements, such as innovation in gear design and component materials, would all contribute to reducing the risk of marine litter and microplastic pollution from these sources, and would enable these industries to better contribute to Scotland’s circular economy.

Subject to available resource, the Scottish Government intends to run a short-term trial of the regional gear collection and processing facility option. Through this it would be possible to conduct an evaluation of the efficacy, cost-benefit analysis, environmental impact, long-term financial viability, and Scotland-wide feasibility of such an operation.