"Ghost cries" will turn into sunglasses

Lost or abandoned fishing nets that threaten sea creatures at the bottom of the Marmara Sea will be removed from the sea and turned into sunglasses. According to the statement made by DP World, the company cooperated with the Association for the Protection of Marine Life in order to clean the "ghost nets" from the Marmara Sea, which can remain undissolved in nature for approximately 200 years and continue to threaten marine creatures, and to reuse the recovered material.

Within the scope of the project, Marine Life Conservation Association teams locate abandoned nets using reports, technology, sea charts and local knowledge, and then meticulously remove the nets from the seabed. While some nets were removed from depths over 50 meters, especially in the deep waters around Istanbul and the Islands, a net was found at a depth of 55 meters off the coast of the Islands.

The weight, size and location of the extracted nets are recorded. This information helps to understand more clearly where lost fishing gear accumulates on the sea floor. Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to remove approximately 800 kilograms of net, over 1000 square meters, from the seabed around the Islands. This amount exceeds the weight of a small car. During one of the landing operations, three stingray egg sacs were found among the materials carried to the sea surface. As soon as the team noticed the bladders, they put them back into the sea.

The nets taken from the sea will be transformed into plastic granules through the recycling process and will be used in the production of frames for specially designed sunglasses. The coordinates and depth information from which the mesh used in production was extracted will be engraved on the inside of the frame of each pair of glasses. Thus, the material once found on the sea floor will carry information about where it came from as it transforms into a new product.

In addition to recycling activities, the project also includes awareness activities to be carried out with fishing communities. These studies aim to contribute to the prevention of loss or abandonment of hunting equipment.

Nicholas Mazzei, Vice President of Sustainability at DP World Europe, whose views were included in the statement, said: "Ghost nets continue to pose a threat to marine life long after they disappear. This project takes these nets out of the water and uses the material for a completely different purpose. Transforming a net removed from the seabed into sunglasses makes the idea of ​​reuse very concrete. Engraving the location of the net into each pair of glasses creates a bond between the product and the place it comes from."

Volkan Narcı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association for the Protection of Marine Life, said, "Protecting our seas requires cooperation, and at this point, the private sector has an important role. The partnership we have established with DP World allows us to create a greater and lasting impact on the health of the Marmara Sea."