On July 8th, 2014 the Healthy Seas team met with Defishgear (Derelict Fishing Gear Management system) at the Ancona Harbor in Italy to  establish a Memorandum of Cooperation. The main points discussed and agreed upon were:

–      the creation of the first national collection point for fishing nets in the Ancona Harbor (Adriatic Sea)

–      activities to recover ghost nets from the bottom of the sea with Healthy Seas volunteer divers, within select locations of Croatian waters

–      raising awareness on the activities of the two initiatives and on the use of fishing nets to produce new textiles products

On April 28, Defishgear and Healthy Seas officially joined forces but now that the Memorandum of Cooperation has been created, the upcoming activities are set also in the presence of Aquafil who will manage the recycling process. The recovered nylon fishing nets will be  regenerated into ECONYL® yarn which will in turn be used to manufacture new products such as socks, swimwear, underwear and carpet.

Other partners of Defishgear also participated in the project by providing their expertise on future implementations. Other partners included: ISPRA – Chioggia, CNR Venice, waste management company Ancona (Garbage), the Ancona diving team (Komaros) and some local fisherman.

COVERAGE OF THE PARTNERSHIP CAN BE FOUND ON:

La Repubblica

Ansa

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