20 Nov 2014

Global Ghost Gear Initiative has been launched

November 13-14, 2014, Ghost Fishing attended the inaugural round table meeting of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Organized by World Animal Protection, the round table meeting brought together UN agencies, industry leaders and non-governmental organizations to address the growing issue of ghost gear in oceans.

The initiative aims to achieve safer, cleaner oceans by driving sustainable solutions that address the issue at a global scale. The round table meeting brought together environmental thought leaders and governmental organizations with the goal to discuss and frame the structure and objectives of the initiative moving forward.

Delegates shared inspiring success stories of beach and ocean clean-up initiatives. We had the opportunity to present our Healthy Seas clean up project of last year in the North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. We also talked about our new activities for the North Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic Sea which will take place in 2015.

Of course the beautiful Healthy Seas ‘Journey from Waste to Wear’ initiative was presented, that recycles and places monetary value on recovered ghost gear used to feed the ECONYL® Regeneration System. People were amazed to see socks and swim wear that were once smelly fishing nets!

The second morning of the meeting offered participants the opportunity to visit the ECONYL® plant where they could see how recovered ghost gear contributes to a circular economy. Aquafil offered delegates a glimpse into the manufacturing world to see how corporations can utilize recovered ghost gear to reintroduce to the market as new products. By providing a successful example of producing new products from ghost gear, the initiative is optimistic there will be greater participation from corporations to help create a more circular economy.

As we stated during the event, preventing ghost gear is a win/win for fisheries, animals and the environment. Meanwhile we as divers continue working on cleaning up the legacy of old nets. We believe in safer, healthier oceans.

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