The sixth collection of fishing gear from the seabed in Port de la Selva has been completed by Pescaplàstiks with SEAQUAL INITIATIVE. The activity was a huge success, with over 70 volunteers taking part in the event and more than 700 kilos of garbage and 1 km of fishing nets collected from the ocean floor and the beach.

This year was extra special, since they had use of the University of Girona’s ROV submarine drone (remotely piloted with a hook to pick up objects), which allowed them to recover abandoned fishing nets and prevent them from becoming ghost nets.

What is more, after the trip out to sea, Pescaplàstiks organized an awareness-raising workshop about marine waste, to demonstrate the importance of this initiative.

Their aim is to put an end to having to collect fishing nets. “We’ve been doing this activity for years now, and it is unbelievable the amount of garbage that comes out each time. So much garbage is removed with every collection,” says fisherman Salva Manera, the event’s coordinator.

SEAQUAL INITIATIVE and Pescaplàstiks joined forces for this event to raise awareness about the sea, fishing, fishermen and the impact of plastic waste on our ocean.