Caring for the blue Planet
Healthy Seas was founded in 2013 at the behest of Aquafil, Star Sock, and the NGO Ghost Diving to tackle the ghost fishing phenomenon which is responsible for the needless death of marine animals. Through cleanups with volunteer divers and by working with stakeholders of the fishing sector toward marine litter prevention, they collect waste nets and ensure they become valuable resources.
Their approach contributes toward a solution to planet pollution, as they recover fishing nets with volunteer divers, prevent litter from ending up in the seas and raise public awareness.
Nylon fishing nets recovered by the Healthy Seas volunteers are regenerated together with other nylon waste by Aquafil into ECONYL® yarn while the other types of plastics are also reused or recycled. The recovered nets – together with other nylon waste as fabric scraps, carpet flooring and industrial plastic – are regenerated into brand new ECONYL® yarn for the fashion and interior industries. Brands can use the high quality ECONYL® yarn for brand new apparel, carpets and special projects made with nylon.
In May 2021, Healthy Seas expanded to the USA and welcomed Ghost Diving USA to their diving partners. Their cleanups kicked off in the USA starting in 2023, removing various gear from the area surrounding their home base in California. In 2022 they welcomed Ghost Diving Hong Kong and Ghost Diving Korea as their partners.
The Healthy Seas Foundation has recently shared their 2022 results, showing their big commitment in terms of the activities carried out for the care of our planet.
Thanks to the support of every volunteer and every supporting partner, Healthy Seas made a great impact in 2022. Here are their numbers:
- active in 6 regions in 20 countries
- 132,500 kgs of fishing nets and other marine litter were removed from the sea or prevented from ending up there, starting a circular journey
- 1,250 fishers and fish farms were involved in their activities
- 3,400 children engaged in education programs
- 350 divers volunteered during
- 188 diving days.
