CEFAS24-80 Contract for data collection and outreach campaigns on Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Maldives, under the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP)

The Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) was announced in 2021 as a key bilateral aid programme under the £500m Blue Planet Fund. The UK is working with partner countries to deliver marine science technical assistance across the 3 core themes of marine pollution, biodiversity loss and supporting sustainable seafood.

The OCPP Marine Pollution strand will build on work in countries where Cefas and UK marine partnerships are already active, as well as forge new relationships in priority regions. The OCPP began by building on the successes of the Commonwealth Litter Programme (CLiP), using established foundations to expand technical training and capacity building in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) eligible countries and foster collaboration internationally to tackle marine pollution, with a specific focus on marine plastics, including Abandoned, Lost or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG).

Cefas will work alongside international partners in government and society to collaborate on work packages to tackle marine litter, including raising awareness to encourage best practices in litter disposal. This includes collecting data to evaluate the status of particular forms of pollution such as ALDFG, collecting data that could be beneficial to start conversations about solutions. This also includes an outreach programme on ALDFG to raise awareness of the possible impacts of ALDFG.

The method of data collection will be to conduct face to face interviews to enable the completion of a questionnaire on fisheries and ALDFG data.

The method of outreach will be to conduct face to face presentations and/or workshops.