Planetativo

Young British designer Dan Watson has received the James Dyson Awardwhich, for creative design solutions to global problems. The designer created a “humane” fishing net that prevents small fish being caught and contributes to a more sustainable fishing.

40% of the world population depends on fish to eat, but each year about 27 million tons of fish are thrown away dead because they are too small. Many of the discarded species are also the most endangered.

The SafetyNet system helps reduce the capture and discarding of juvenile fish threatened with extinction. The system is based on a series of escape rings for fish and can be installed on a net fish trawler.

Escape rings keep the meshes open, and a simple light ring  acts as an emergency exit sign. The light makes the rings more visible and stimulate fish escape reactions, guiding them out. All electronic devices are powered by an energy harvesting system on board tested. Once fishermen fit the devices to their networks they have never to think about them again. When  trawls reach the end of their useful life, the Escape rings can be removed and fitted to the a new one!

Watch the explanatory video!

Source: Guardian.co.uk,  James Dyson Award