On the occasion of World Environment Day, which is commemorated today, and World Oceans Day, which will be celebrated next Saturday, the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i) of the University of Vigo delves into a worrying reality for the environment through a new audiovisual piece: the deterioration of the health of the seas due to plastics. In the video Pescadores de plásticos (Plastic Fishermen), the director of the Ecotox group (CIM-UVigo), Ricardo Beiras, explains the involvement of the academic institution in the fight against this problem through the Repescaplas research project, emphasizing the idea that “we have to be aware that the sea is not the landfill where the waste that we generate on land should end up. We have to process this waste properly and prevent it from reaching the sea.”
Since 2017, the research team led by Beiras has been working on this issue in collaboration with Aimplas (Valencia Plastics Technological Institute), the Global Nature Foundation, the Vertidos Cero Association and the Fishermen’s Guilds of Gandía, Marín and Vigo. Its main objective is to expand knowledge about plastic waste and reduce its impact on the environment. The researcher explains in the UCC+i video that “the role of the University of Vigo in the Repescaplas project is to try to assess the toxicity of the plastics that fishermen collect from the sea and bring to port. We all know that most do not degrade and, therefore, can remain in the sea for hundreds of years”. In addition, the director of Ecotox points out that “a recent scientific discovery indicates that these objects, in general, fragment into increasingly smaller plastics, called microplastics, which are ingested by marine organisms and pass into food chains, so it is important to study the effects of these microplastics on marine food webs”, explains Beiras.
The professor and researcher at the University of Vigo highlights in Pescadores de plásticos that “so far, around a ton of waste is being collected each year. Of this waste, the most frequent types are plastic bags, bottles, packaging, but there are also quite a few fishing gear, pots, remains of nets…”. The audiovisual piece is available on the UCC+i social media profiles (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter)
Compromiso coa Axenda 2030
The dissemination of this video is part of the University of Vigo’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This global action plan establishes the obligation to protect the planet against degradation, through sustainable consumption and production, the sustainable management of its natural resources and the implementation of urgent measures to address climate change. The 2030 Agenda seeks to advance prosperity, justice and universal peace through 17 objectives, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, this dissemination action is linked to the SDGs Life below sea level (14) and Life on land (15).
In particular, Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. Meanwhile, Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG15) aims to sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt land degradation and biodiversity loss.
