This research emerged from a 5 year UKRI-GCRF project to understand the impacts of plastic on coastal communities in Viet Nam. Numerous studies have evaluated the quantity of plastic discharged into Vietnamese coastal waters, but few have focused on understanding the real lived experience of the communities impacted by this plastic.
The quantities of plastic on Vietnamese coastlines are plain to see. We used mixed-methods approaches to interview in total nearly 300 fishers to understand their perception of the amount of plastic they catch and how it affects their livelihoods. Fishers talked about how they 'picked the fish out of the plastic' and reported that every haul of their nets was contaminated by plastic materials.
We used independent observers to validate their observations and found that domestically generated waste from Viet Nam and other countries accounted for the most common form of waste. Fishing litter also accounted for some of that material but in much lower quantities. While the fishers could be part of the solution to plastic in our oceans, no mechanisms or legal instruments require them to retain plastic and return it to the shore, hence it goes directly back into the sea.
When we asked fishers if they would participate in a 'fishing for plastic scheme' they were clear that they would need to be paid about USD 250 per tonne to return the plastic to land. Naturally this would require land-based infrastructure to deal with the landed plastic rather than leaving it with local communities.
Our study also found that the impact was disproportionately more severe for fishers in the Mekong region which is exacerbated by their older less profitable fishing vessels and the oceanographic transport of plastic from the north to the south of Viet Nam along its coastline. In total, fishers lost 25% of their income dealing with the consequences of plastic in catches and due to interference with fishing operations. Some fishers were seriously injured or lives lost when dealing with plastic entangled propellers when fishing offshore.
Importantly the study highlights that as the Vietnamese economy grows at a pace faster than it can deal with plastic generated through the plastic economy, more and more plastic will be transported to the coastline where some of the Viet Nam's poorest people carry the added burden of the impact of plastic on their daily livelihoods.