News

Deepen the Industry's First "Fishing Net to Fishing Net Recycling"
Initiative by Utilizing Discarded Fishing Nets

Aug 21, 2023

TAIYO A&F CO., LTD. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Osamu Momiyama; hereinafter "TAIYO A&F"), a group company of Maruha Nichiro Corporation (Head Office: Koto-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaru Ikemi), Toray Industries Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiro Nikkaku; hereinafter referred to as "Toray") and, NITTO SEIMO CO., LTD. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Kobayashi; hereinafter "NITTO SEIMO") announced today that they will broaden the program launched in last November to contribute to a circular economy and help resolve the issue of marine plastic by recycling materials from used fishing nets into new ones. The program will now additionally recover materials from nylon fishing nets.

In this November, TAIYO A&F plans to conduct a trial operation with the offshore purse seine fishery using fishing nets that use raw yarn recycled from discarded fishing nets. This will be the first time in the industry that recycled fishing nets once used in operations are used in actual fisheries.
It is challenging to reuse used fishing nets because their strength and durability of fibers deteriorate during spinning due to the separation of each material and the adhesion of waste and algae contamination in the sea. The recycling program launched last year was accordingly limited to nylon scraps and process waste from net production.

Toray thereafter leveraged a proprietary technology employing some nylon from discarded fishing nets to develop a recycled polymer that is comparable to virgin material. NITTO SEIMO is manufacturing nets with this fiber. TAIYO A&F’s offshore purse seine fishing vessel Taiyo Maru No.21 fishing boat will deploy them on a trial basis in the Northern Pacific Ocean in this November to broaden the scope of the program.

The three companies will confirm the commercial feasibility of these new fishing nets. They will draw on trial results, verify materials scopes, ratios, and other aspects of expanding their usage with a view to putting the new nets on the market in December 2023.

The three companies will continue to promote co-creation and collaboration to further deepen the efforts of a social system of "fishing net-to-net recycling" with new technological innovations and advanced materials through Toray and NITTO SEIMO developing and manufacturing innovative yarn and fishing nets made from pre-consumer materials such as process waste and post-consumer materials such as used fishing nets, and TAIYO A&F cooperating in product testing.

The three companies will continue to work together to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) "Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production" and "Goal 14: Life Below Water."

Masaru Ikemi, President & CEO of Maruha Nichiro Corporation, said on behalf of the company and its subsidiary TAIYO A&F that, “Under our medium-term management plan, one component of our sustainability strategy is to create environmental value, including at TAIYO A&F. This means contributing to a circular economy by cutting plastics content in containers and other packaging by 30% by fiscal 2030. It also entails tackling the issue of marine plastics by formulating fishing gear management guidelines and fully implementing them within the Group by fiscal 2024.”

Osamu Momiyama, president of TAIYO A&F commented that “For the ocean, for life” is the brand statement of Maruha Nichiro Group as well as TAIYO A&F’s mission to be accomplished. Effective use of used fishing gear and nets as a recycling resource will contribute to the creation of environmental value for our fishing industry, which has been a major issue for many years.
With result of the forthcoming trial operation, we do hope it will go into full swing. We will work together as a company to lead to the creation of value for the marine environment for the entire fishing industry.