Prawn fishers warm to energy-saving ideas

An initiative to improve technologies for prawn fishing and make it more sustainable has started to take off after initial difficulties.

Schleswig-Holstein’s state government issued a statement on 28 March to say that the first results of a collaboration between fishers and researchers had been published. Project participants are working on improving the energy efficiency of ships and making fishing techniques less damaging to other sea life.

Robert Habeck, Schleswig-Holstein’s environment minister, said the project’s continuation hung in the balance a few months ago as participants disagreed about what changes would be feasible. “During the discussions, the waves were crashing down quite strongly at times,” he said. “But since autumn the seas have calmed and the standoff has changed into a constructive collaboration.”