Ghost net clean up – Big Steps!
On Thursday 20th May, we were invited to join the Pafos Coastal Fisheries Association, ΑΚΤΗ / AKTI Project and Research Centre and Isotech Ltd in a seabed clean up in support of the EU Maritime day.
Abandoned fishing net cause a huge problem for marine life. These nets are so good at what they do that they continue to catch fish, turtles and other marine life even when they have broken off from the boat. The netting then wraps around rocks and pinnacles trapping the marine life inside.
What’s next for these ghost nets?
Before anything can be done with the fishing nets, the lead weights, floats and marine debris needs to be remove and then then nets cleaned. From there were are currently working on a partnership to turn the old nets into something new!
We were able to collect 65kg of ghost fishing nets from the seabed with just 3 teams of divers during a 45 minute dive! These nets will now be sorted and recycled, and for the bits that cant be recycled they will be disposed of properly.
A huge thank you to the divers that joined up on this dive and for those that couldn’t make it, we will be planning plenty more clean ups throughout the rest of the year!
