Ghost nets kill millions of marine animals each year. On June 8th, World Oceans Day, Healthy Seas together with Cousteau Divers, with the support of Italian fabric manufacturer, Carvico S.p.A, will live stream from the island of Santorini in Greece, and show the world how divers remove these deadly traps.
Expert divers from Ghost Fishing supported by Atlantis Dive Center will undertake the highly demanding diving mission of recovering the nets. The circular economy initiative Healthy Seas will deliver these nets to Aquafil which will transform and regenerate them into ECONYL® yarn to then be used by Carvico for the production of swimwear.
Everyone is invited to tune in on June 8th at 11 am (UTC+3) to the innovative live stream event of Facebook as Pierre-Yves Cousteau takes the public on a journey above and beneath the waves. The public can also send their questions using #SaveYourBreath on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
During a survey dive in 2016, Ghost Fishing divers spotted discarded fishing gear in several popular diving spots around Santorini. On June 8th, an international team consisting of 8 divers will return to remove them and help protect the island’s fragile marine environment. Greece is the home to many endangered species which hugely contributes to the ecological importance of the seas in the Eastern Mediterranean. Sadly, the unique biodiversity is put into danger because of human activity, including lost or discarded fishing nets in the seas.
The Healthy Seas initiative has been operating for 5 years in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Italy, and Greece. During this time, volunteer divers and fishermen together have recovered 375 tons of fishing nets from the seas and from land, the equivalent in weight of 2 blue whales.
The event is being held under the auspices of the Municipality of Thira (Santorini) and the Goulandris Natural History Museum, and exclusively sponsored by Carvico. Mrs. Laura Colnaghi Calissoni – Chairman of the Board and CEO of Carvico S.p.A stated:
“Our company has always implemented a set of environmental policies aimed at safeguarding our planet environment. Since 2015, coherently with our corporate mission, we have been one of the proud stakeholders of Healthy Seas. Promoting the 8 June event to be held in Santorini means concretely taking action to preserve the environment with a twofold purpose: removing ghost fishing nets from the sea and creating several sustainable, recycled fabrics in a virtuous cycle which performs today to make a better future, because Nature has got its rights and we must listen to it.”
The Malta National Aquarium and the National Library of Greece (Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center) will join the World Oceans Day celebration and screen the “Healthy Seas: Save Your Breath” live stream at their premises. Other educational institutions are welcome to join.
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