Biodegradable Fishing Baits for Sustainable Angling

IKT, together with Capt’n Greenfin, has developed and tested biodegradable materials as eco-friendly alternatives to traditional fishing baits.

• Biopolymers
• Biodegradability
• Injection moulding
• Compounding
• Foaming

Since 2021, Capt’n Greenfin has been working on developing biodegradable fishing baits for sustainable angling. Conventional baits are often made from non-degradable plastics with harmful additives like plasticizers or UV stabilizers. These materials do not break down in water and can remain in the environment for over a hundred years when lost during fishing. An estimated 1,300 tons of plastic baits enter European waters each year – a major source of microplastic pollution.

The goal was to develop biodegradable materials for soft and hard fishing baits with the same performance, flexibility, and durability of conventional products, while being compatible with standard processes. The baits should be injection-mouldable, free from microplastics, stable in water for at least 4 hours, and fully biodegradable within two years when lost.

Within the project biodegradable alternatives for soft and hard fishing baits were successfully developed. The soft material achieved the softness of conventional baits and remained stable in water for over 12 hours without losing performance. Hard bait showed high performance, withstanding forces over 20 kg. A custom injection moulding tool was designed to create baits with a foam structure, resulting in high flexibility for the soft baits and reduced weight for the hard baits. Initial results were presented at Fakuma 2024 – generating strong interest from experts and industry.