Caring for the blue Planet
Aquafil is one of the 3 founding partners of the Healthy Seas Foundation.
In 2013, the Healthy Seas Foundation was established to tackle ghost fishing, a phenomenon that is responsible for the needless deaths of marine animals. Each year the Foundation organises activities involving volunteer divers and collaboration with stakeholders from the fishing sector, to recover abandoned fishing nets, prevent marine litter and help turn collected waste into valuable resources.
Its approach combines recovery, prevention and awareness:
- Removing fishing nets and other marine litter from the seas;
- Working with local communities and fishing-sector stakeholders to prevent waste from entering the marine environment;
- Raising public awareness about ocean protection.
Nylon fishing nets recovered during Healthy Seas’ activities are sent to Aquafil to be regenerated, together with other nylon waste, including fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic components, into new ECONYL® nylon.
ECONYL® nylon can then be used by brands and manufacturers to create new products for the fashion, interior and other industries. Over the years, Healthy Seas has expanded its international network and activities. In May 2021, the Foundation expanded to the United States and welcomed Ghost Diving USA among its diving partners. Clean-up operations in the country began in 2023, with the removal of abandoned fishing gear and other marine litter from areas around its home base in California.
In 2022, Ghost Diving Hong Kong and Ghost Diving Korea also joined the network. Since then, Healthy Seas has continued to expand its activities and strengthen global collaborations.
In 2025, Healthy Seas operated across 20 countries and seven regions.
Healthy Seas’ latest annual results
The latest Annual Report published by the Healthy Seas Foundation highlights some of the results achieved in 2025:
- 213 active field days;
- 81.1 tonnes of marine litter collected;
- 550 volunteer divers involved;
- collaboration with 1,250 fishers and fish farms to tackle marine debris;
- 13,339 children engaged through educational programmes;
- 73 educational events organised worldwide.
Discover the latest news and results from 2025
Explore previous results
Discover more about the Healthy Seas Foundation’s’ activities and key achievements over the years:
Major Events
Discover more about the Foundation’s major cleaning-up initivies and public events participation or awards:
- Removal of the abandoned mussel farm in Salamina, Greece
- Plastic Revolution: Shaping Tomorrow, Today – ECONYL® Academy
- Nomination for the “Ocean Tribute” Award 2024
- The Anniversary Event
- Healthy Seas documentary “Journey to Ithaca” wins award at Cannes World Film Festival
