In Cyprus, biodegradable fishing nets initiative SEALIVE has received European Union funding to help prevent maritime harm due to ghost nets—fishing nets that are lost or abandoned by fisherman but still trap and kill marine life. Such waste was singled out by the European Directive on Single Use plastics, which includes mandates on collection and recycling of old nets.
SEALIVE is both developing nets made from algae and other biobased materials and creating a market for nonbiodegradable fishing nets to help get unsustainable nets out of circulation. Cypriot fishermen, in partnership with ISOTECH, will test the nets over the next twelve months.
AKTI Project and Research Center, a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Nicosia, Cyprus, is also participating in the project. “We are proud to work with our local and international partners to develop better, more sustainable ways of protecting our oceans,” says Anna Tselepou, a representative of AKTI. “Fishing has always been important to Cyprus and we are working to enable and support our fishermen to move to more environmentally friendly practices that will protect our marine heritage for generations to come.