CFTO, in partnership with OPAGAC, signs a cooperation agreement with a Seychelles startup to recycle their nets

Orthongel and OPAGAC sign a cooperation agreement with a Seychelles startup to recycle their nets The Seychelles company BRIKOLE,

OPAGAC—the Spanish organization of large tuna freezer producers—and Orthongel—the French organization of frozen and deep-frozen tuna producers—signed a cooperation agreement on May 19 that will enable BRIKOLE to recover discarded seine nets and transform them in a recycling facility.

This agreement is the result of a project supported by the Seychelles Department of Blue Economy, which aims to explore the potential use and value of abandoned or discarded industrial fishing nets and gear. BRIKOLE currently estimates that around 1,000 tons of old nets are stored on the island.

The project plans to redevelop the storage area for old nets and build a local recycling facility, which will provide a sustainable, long-term solution by repurposing this waste from the tuna fishing industry as part of a circular economy.

Kyle de Bouter, co-founder of BRIKOLE, is delighted that “all parties involved want to limit the impact of fishing on the environment and solve the problem of end-of-life fishing nets in the Seychelles through sustainable commercial operations.”

At the signing ceremony held at Maison Colette, Xavier Leduc, President of Orthongel, said that “this cooperation with an innovative startup involved in the circular and blue economy of the Seychelles is perfectly in line with the development objectives and policies of the French and Italian shipping companies that are members of Orthongel.”