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Safety Net by Dan Watson

By Michael DiTullo - June 14, 2011

in Featured Items

40% of the world's population relies on fish as their main source of food. At present, unsustainable fishing practices mean that we are in danger of depleting our fish supplies and trawling species such as cod into extinction. Check out this great project by RCA student Dan Watson that addresses the functional problems of sorting and catching fish in a sustainable way.

Dan created this project for the Victorinox Time to Care Competition. You can vote on the entries HERE.

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product tank

13 years ago

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Over a year ago I saw a programme about a beam trawler experimenting with square mesh nets to reduce by-catch by 80%. Square mesh doesn't collapse like diamond mesh, so smaller fish can escape from any net aperture, not just the chosen lit apertures in this concept. A quick google search on fishing nets, shows images with square mesh being used in postions of nets already. This is far better than the idea of escape rings as it's simple/effective and easy to maintain. Fishermen have an incentive to check net structure/damage, but will not be interested in checking if lights in rings are working after every trawl. By catch is a huge problem but one that tests have shown can be easily solved by square mesh and more importantly legislation. I think the solution presented is overcomplicating the problem. The best bit of the net concept was it's ability to separate fish types.
A far bigger problem is created by trawling nets stirring up the bottom and introducing plastic particles in the settled bottom sediment back into the foodchain. I'm going to have a go at this project myself.
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Brian

13 years ago

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This project is brilliant.
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Lead

13 years ago

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It took me some searching but it looks like the dude at David Weeks did a concept. He did a beehive on Wired Uk. Now there is design that pushes what humans are here for; serving the planet that helps serve products from humanity. Why is he making lamps?

http://adamweaverdesign.com/nassarius.html
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Michael DiTullo

13 years ago

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@Lead, that sounds like a fantastic project. Perhaps one you should take on. Let us know when you have something ready to share.
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Lead

13 years ago

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How about a cleaner ocean free of nets and plastic? Fish is one of the most polluted sources of food. These rings will only help other animals get stuck to it. Ghost net nightmare. Start change peoples idea of what food is and we might stand a chance of saving the ocean. Wasnt there a concept of a boat that cleans the plastic out of the ocean? Thats a far better net. Nets should be for searching information not killing.
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