Litter is still one of the main environmental problems that effects marine environments today. Fishing for Litter (FFL) is a project that started in 2005 in Scotland that aims to directly remove garbage from the sea but at the same time raising awareness to stakeholders, the public and the packing industry.
The project has grown since 2005 and has expanded to South West England, the Netherlands and the Baltic Sea. Fishing For Litter is creative in that it directly involves the fishing industry. Fishing boats are provided with bags, which they then fill with garbage that ends up in their fishing gear. When they are full, these bags are deposited on land. The garbage is then sorted, weighed and collected for disposal.
Fishing for Litter launched in three Swedish ports in autumn 2011 in cooperation with the Foundation Keep Sweden Tidy, and as of April 2012 FFL goal was to cover the entire Swedish Coastline. Presently, 13 harbors and 46 boats are involved. So far over 7 tonnes of garbage have been landed and about 56% of it is plastic. FFL in Sweden also arranges conferences, seminars and different exhibitions to constantly inform stakeholders and the public about the ongoing issue of marine litter.