“I choose and embrace non-conventionality” VJ
Self-sufficient and self-determined, 25-year-old Virginia Jacquemod is currently sailing a tour of the fishing ports of Italy, where amongst other initiatives, she plans to help set up municipal recycling collection services for end-of-life plastic fishing nets.
Virginia Jacquemod's strong sense of circularity was shaped by her father's emphasis on responsible resource use at home and her subsequent travels abroad. She spent a year in Ghana on a school exchange and remembers feeling alarmed by the lack of waste management and level of plastic pollution. Bathing in the sea, she recalls the disturbing sensation of plastic wrapping around her legs, an experience that sowed the first seeds towards combatting marine debris.
Upon her return to Italy, she took over a 9m sailing boat based in Venice, charging rent to cover costs. Progressive short trips from the marina enabled her to gradually build up expertise, before accompanying a tenant friend of hers on a month-long voyage to Southern Italy. Her first offshore voyage had a profound impact and ignited a desire for an Atlantic crossing. In the Cape Verdes she was first thwarted by a last-minute change of plans and then fortunate to join a small crew onboard a 32’ boat sailing to Brazil. A Caribbean season was next, working as a deckhand, crewing on racing boats Southern Italy
Back in Europe and drawn to the buzz of then Volvo Ocean Race scene in Alicante, Virginia found herself chatting to Roberto Guerini, founder of the BioDesign Foundation. A shared road-trip back to Italy cemented a solid working relationship and expansive plans that saw the foundation take on 10 employees over subsequent months.
The BioDesign Foundation & VOX MARIS
The BioDesign Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, with national associations in Germany, Italy, Spain and recently also US, Pensacola, Florida. It manages the intellectual and material inheritance of Luigi Colani, a renowned designer and shape scientist, and creator of over 6000 inventions, prototypes, and visions. Renowned for his organic designs and aerodynamic vision, Luigi Colani pioneered BioDesign, a philosophy comprising 90% inspiration from nature and 10% Colani’s transformation, advocating for harmony between humanity, technology, and nature. The BioDesign Foundation aims to repurpose Colani's work to promote research and implement holistic solutions for the protection of biodiversity and the natural environment.
The Foundation believes that by through collaborative action we can transform environmental challenges into solutions. Entitled VOX MARIS (“voice of the sea”), a set of three projects is focussed on minimising the negative impacts on ocean health; including tackling the issue of how to manage end-of-life fishing gear, tonnes of which, primarily plastic, is lost or discarded in the oceans annually, posing a significant threat to marine life and ecosystems. This “ghost gear” continues to trap and kill marine animals, damage habitats, and harming the fishing industry and coastal economies.
Ghost Fishing Gear
Composed of long-lasting synthetic materials, lost fishing gear fragments into microplastics, entering the food chain and contaminating the environment. This pervasive issue demands urgent action to prevent further damage and mitigate the existing impact.
According to the WWF: “It’s estimated that ghost gear makes up at least 10% of marine litter. This roughly translates to between 500,000 and 1 million tons of fishing gear abandoned in the ocean each year.” WWF states that “preventing fishing gear loss is the top priority” including the need to design policies and regulations designed to prevent gear loss, and “establish adequate and innovative end-of-life fishing gear disposal and recycling options”.
VOX MARIS aims to mitigate this problem by establishing a robust infrastructure for the collection and responsible disposal of end-of-life fishing gear. A successful pilot project in Chioggia, preventing the disposal of over 810,000 kg of fishing gear, demonstrates the potential to significantly reduce marine pollution by scaling this model across the 272 Italian fishing harbours and beyond.
Phileas
Perceiving the need to take the VOX MARIS project to national level, Virginia sought investment to purchase an aluminium 10m sailing boat with which, under the banner of the BioDesign Foundation and the “Phileas” initiative, will travel to the fishing harbours around Italy’s 7500km of coastline aiming to establish collection infrastructure for end-of-life fishing gear in every facility. A comprehensive, circular economy perspective includes conducting workshops and training on ethical fishing practices, whilst also promoting waste-to-resource processes for the recycled nets.
Being a solo sailor has helped earn her the trust of local fishing communities, aiding the project's progress. Virginia finds they see her as a fellow seafarer, sharing their daily experience. This authenticity fosters easy communication, encouraging the exchange of stories and identification of pressing challenges. Her journey, therefore, offers a compelling platform to explore the complex and evolving landscape of fishing culture, its diverse trajectories, and the contrasting lived experiences of its practitioners.
Thrilled to undertake the mission - and with no shortage of friends and family who want to get in some “boat therapy” and help out on board, she has an exciting future ahead.