New WFO Champion

Danish MEP Søren Gade has recently been appointed as the new Champion of the WFO foundation, to succeed French MEP Alain Cadec. The foundation was set up in 2011, under the strong leadership of former EU Commissioner Maria Damanaki and former MEP Anna Rosbach. What had originally started as a pilot project to encourage fishermen and the plastics industry to work together on the reduction of plastic pollution, resulted in worldwide actions of joining forces in clean-up operations and awareness raising campaigns on marine litter.

WFO supports fishing for litter schemes and believes that, in the fight against marine litter, it is crucial to collaborate with fishermen, as they are best equipped to collect floating debris. Fishermen are eligible to use some of the EU subsidies available under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, in order to perform these actions and to ensure they contribute to the preservation of our oceans and seas.

Søren Gade MEP is Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, which is very much concerned and involved in all sustainability aspects of fishing in Europe. “I take great pride and joy in championing WFO. The work and purpose of WFO aligns in a very natural way with my seat and position as co-chair of the Fisheries Committee, where clean seas and sustainable fishing opportunities are a priority”, explains MEP Gade.

WFO Founder, Alexandre Dangis, says: “WFO offers a remarkable example of collaborating with fishermen for their knowledge and capabilities, as well as developing a true circular economy that adds value to waste”.

As public awareness continues to increase, WFO is confident in its capacity to develop new partnerships worldwide and engage in practically oriented actions to reduce the amount of floating debris. Currently, the organisation is expanding in India with the production of products made from recycled ocean plastic, in order to stimulate the circularity of plastics and clean-up operations in the area.

To learn more about WFO, please visit www.wastefreeoceans.org or email us at [email protected]