Image: Satlink / FIS
Satlink Launches the Reuse of Buoys for Sustainable Fishing
CAPE VERDE
Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
- The NGO Project Biodiversity, based in Cape Verde, joins the ReCon Project promoted by Satlink, thus extending the initiative to a total of nine countries and the three main oceans.
- Shark monitoring or onboard safety, among the potential new uses of these recovered buoys.
The Spanish technology company Satlink has launched the first smart buoy reuse program for tropical tuna fishing in the Atlantic Ocean with the help of the Cape Verde NGO Project Biodiversity. The collaboration between both entities is part of the ReCon Project, an international initiative founded by the Spanish and the Australian NGO Tangaroa Blue Foundation. Dedicated to the conservation of marine ecosystems and the protection of protected species and habitats, Project Biodiversity joins the project with the objective of reusing these buoys to monitor sharks, delimit marine protected areas and improve boat safety, among other potential uses.
![](https://www.seafood.media/attach_fck/proyecto.png)
Image: Satlink - Clic on the image to enlarge
With this new membership, the ReCon Project is present in nine countries and the three main oceans (Pacific, Indian and Atlantic). This project, launched by Satlink in 2022, has launched an international collaboration network between fishing companies from around the world and local environmental organizations to recover, recondition and reuse these buoys with scientific and environmental applications, and thus prevent their stranding. In addition to Cape Verde, ReCon has a presence in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, USA (Palmyra), Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia.
![](/attach_fck/Flota artesanal en Salt, Cabo Verde FIS Seafood Media.jpg)
Artisan fleet in Salt, Cape Verde. Source: Satlink
It should be remembered that these buoys incorporate echo sounders that detect the amount of fish present under them, making them ideal for reuse in small-scale scientific studies, as well as marking and monitoring marine litter or preventing natural disasters.
According to Kathryn Gavira, Director of Science and Sustainability at Satlink, “we are very excited to welcome our new local partner, Project Biodiversity, to Project ReCon. The conservation, environmental awareness and sustainability work that this organization is carrying out is fully aligned with Satlink and our pioneering circular economy project, and we are extremely excited about the challenges we face in reconditioning the buoys for new potential. applications".
For its part, according to Albert Taxonera, executive director of Project Biodiversity, “by joining the project we not only contribute to preventing these devices from becoming technological waste as a result of marine currents, but it also allows us to reuse them to, for example, locate the scientific equipment we use to monitor sharks or to help us promote the safety of the boats that fish in the area.”
After taking its first steps in Australia with the help of its founding partner Tangaroa Blue Foundation, ReCon remains a unique project in the world and has the collaboration of other prominent environmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC) or The Pacific Community (SPC). On the part of the fishing sector, more than 100 vessels from 22 companies and organizations participate in the project, such as Albacora, Echebastar, Inpesca, OPAGAC/AGAC, Sapmer, Bolton Food Group, Cape Fisheries, Caroline Fisheries Corporation, Trimarine, Oakcity Tuna Fishing Corporation, Hartswater and US Pacific Tuna Group, among others.
Just a few months ago, ReCon was awarded the Tuna Awards 2023, awarded by Anfaco-Cecopesca and the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, for its pioneering nature and its contribution to the fishing industry. This award reinforces Satlink's strategy and commitment to guarantee the comprehensive sustainability of fishing activity, and adds to the latest recognitions achieved by the company: that of the United Nations Global Compact (UN) in 2022 for the contribution of its technology to care of the oceans, and that of the European Union Chamber of Technology in 2023 with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 Award.
Source: Satlink (Translated frm the original in Spanish)
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