New life for old nets — ridding the ocean of “ghost gear”
Our friends at the Steveston Harbour Authority (SHA) have recently been in the news, to talk about their unique net recycling program — giving new life to old, discarded nylon fishing nets. After years of accumulating old nets at the harbour and in storage, the SHA were put in touch with Aquafil USA and Interface Inc., which were able to recycle the nets into new sustainable material to make carpet tiles.
Not only had the SHA found a new use for the tens of thousands of pounds of old netting that were sitting, unused, on their site; they had also found a way to keep these discarded nets out of the oceans, and from potentially becoming “ghost gear”, or abandoned fishing nets and equipment, littering the oceans and endangering the lives of sea-life.
For more information on this fascinating project, see the Richmond News article about the SHA’s efforts, and their partnership with the World Animal Protection. Or, read more about the SHA’s project on their website, here.
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