INFINIFISH
The Western Fish Producers’ Organisation (WFPO) is a project partner in INFINIFISH, an EU-funded initiative focused on developing innovative fishing technologies that reduce environmental impact while supporting the long-term viability of commercial fisheries.
INFINIFISH aims to support the transition of European fisheries towards more sustainable, resilient and profitable systems in the context of climate change. The project brings together a consortium of 16 organisations from 8 countries, combining expertise from research institutes, universities, industry partners and fisheries management bodies.
The project focuses on reducing the carbon footprint of fishing operations, minimising impacts on the seabed, and improving overall efficiency through technological innovation. This includes the development and testing of low-impact fishing gears, tools to optimise energy use and fishing operations, and approaches to improve the uptake of new technologies across the sector. Pilot case studies are being carried out across a range of European sea basins, ensuring innovations are tested in real-world fishing conditions.
WFPO involvement in the INFINIFISH project
WFPO’s involvement in INFINIFISH in collaboration with PO member Waterdance, builds directly on our previous work trialling a modified Sumwing beam trawl under a Seafood Innovation Fund (SIF) project. That earlier work demonstrated the potential of the Sumwing to significantly reduce fuel consumption, seabed contact and gear wear compared with traditional beam trawls, while maintaining commercial fishing performance. The trials highlighted clear environmental and operational benefits, but also identified the need for further refinement to ensure the gear performs reliably across the range of seabed types found in UK waters.
During the INFINIFISH project, WFPO and project partners will be improving and progressing the latest version of the modified Sumwing (called the INFINIwing in the trial), with a particular focus on adapting the gear to work more effectively over the rocky and uneven banking seabeds common around the UK coastline. The aim is to enhance stability, handling and consistency, helping to ensure the gear can be fully operationalised and adopted more widely within the fleet.
Why this matters
Fishing gear innovation has a critical role to play in delivering climate, environmental and food system objectives. Beam trawling is energy-intensive, and earlier Sumwing trials demonstrated the potential for substantial reductions in fuel use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, alongside significant reductions in seabed disturbance and benthic impacts.
If fully developed and operationalised, this technology could contribute meaningfully to national and international climate targets, by lowering GHG emissions per kilogram of fish landed, while also supporting healthier seabed ecosystems. This aligns closely with governmental priorities around decarbonisation, biodiversity protection and sustainable food production, which are central to the INFINIFISH programme.
Crucially, improving the environmental performance of fishing gears also helps safeguard the future supply of low-carbon, high-quality, high-welfare protein. Sustainably caught fish is already one of the lowest-carbon animal proteins available, and innovations like the INFINIwing can further strengthen the role of fisheries in delivering healthy, climate-aligned food systems.
Through INFINIFISH, WFPO and Waterdance are supporting practical, vessel-led innovation that delivers benefits for fishermen, the environment and consumers - helping ensure UK fisheries remain productive, resilient and aligned with long-term sustainability goals.