Where do we get the fishing nets?

We upcycle old fishing nets into new products like our “Bracenet” bracelets. But where do we get all these fishing nets from? And what does it mean when we talk about “salvaged ghost nets”, “disused fishing nets” or “former fishing nets”? Does a “North Sea Bracenet” really come from the North Sea? Can we trace the origin of all our nets?

We transform old fishing nets into new products like our Bracenets. To be more precise, we upcycle the nets by hand - that is, we use them in their original form without melting them down or combining them with new materials. Instead, we simply cut the nets into individual strands, seal the cut edges and glue the ends (depending on the model) with our clasps. Your bracelet is therefore made from a real piece of fishing net, including its knots and colors.

But where do we get all these fishing nets from? What does it mean when we talk about “salvaged ghost nets”, “disused fishing nets” or “former fishing nets”? Does a “North Sea Bracenet” really come from the North Sea? Find out all about it here!

Where do we get the fishing nets for our products?

We first have to distinguish between two categories of nets. Firstly, there are ghost nets that our partner organisations recover from the seas. We call these “recovered ghost nets”. Secondly, we receive discarded, old nets from fisheries – we call these “disused fishing nets”.

Both types are essential to our mission to rid the oceans of ghost nets: with the first category, we render existing ghost nets harmless and with the second, we ensure that these nets do not become ghost nets in the first place. You can find out more about the danger of ghost nets here.

Recovered Ghost Nets

Ghost nets are a global problem. Every year, up to 1 million tons of these nets litter our oceans. Ocean currents and tides carry them around the world, end up in huge garbage patches , get tangled up on wrecks and reefs and are washed up on beaches. This requires a global solution – and that is why our partner organizations Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving with their volunteer, specially trained diving teams around the world. Incidentally, these are the two organizations that we have most donated have.

Her individual teams regularly go out to sea in their own or rented boats to recover ghost nets directly from the water. From previous dives or other reported sightings, they know where nets have become entangled on the seabed in their area. Then their dangerous mission begins: they dive in full gear to depths of up to 50 meters, cut the nets free in often poor visibility and lift them to the surface using so-called "lifting bags". From there they bring the nets into the boat and finally onto land.

Next, the nets are sorted by material and freed of buoys and metal parts. All nets that are suitable for our upcycling products due to their condition, material and thickness are finally received by BRACENET. The remaining nets are recycling cycle returned.

In addition to Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving, we also work with many other organizations who provide us with ghost nets from their recovery missions. We then process these into special editions with which we jointly Donate for their important work. For example, Sea Shepherd Germany Ghost nets on our doorstep from the Baltic Sea, the Ocean Voyages Institute recovers ghost nets directly from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and Bye Bye Plastic Sylt collects washed-up nets directly from the beaches of our northernmost island.

Discarded fishing nets

In order to rid the oceans of ghost nets in the long term, their recovery is essential - but not enough. At the same time, we must work on prevention. That is why we also work with fisheries and accept their used fishing nets or collect them at ports so that they never become ghost nets, drifting uncontrollably through the water. Through our upcycling process, we also prevent these nets from ending up in landfills and being burned.

But why should it even happen that used fishing nets end up as waste in the sea or in landfills? This is because recycling fishing nets is often very complex and expensive due to their size and the many regulations - and improper disposal is therefore much cheaper. We fill an important gap in this system: by not only taking the nets from the fisheries, but sometimes even buying them, we offer them an incentive to keep their used nets and recycle them through us at no additional cost.

Another exciting approach: Enaleia, the first school for sustainable fishing in Greece, has set up a collection point for its used fishing nets together with Healthy Seas.

Can we trace the origin of our networks?

We always try to communicate the exact origin of the nets in our products. This is possible when we receive recovered ghost nets or discarded fishing nets directly from an organization or fishery.

In our cooperation with Sea Shepherd Germany as part of their Baltic Sea campaign 2023, for example, we were able to assign the nets exactly: “Ghost net 2023 recovered from the Baltic Sea by Sea Shepherd Germany near Travemünde”. Another example concerns an Irish fishery that accepted and stored old fishing nets from its surroundings for many years - until it finally found a way through us to give the nets a new life without high disposal costs. For the resulting Bantry Bay Bracenet, we write: “[It] consists of old fishing nets from a fishery in the Irish Bantry Bay on the Atlantic”.

Unfortunately, in our collaboration with Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving, we cannot always provide such specific information. This is because they, along with other partner organizations, also accept discarded fishing equipment. In the further process, the nets are processed collectively, so we can no longer make any differentiated statements about the origins of the nets. Therefore, we generally speak of "former fishing nets" to refer to both recovered ghost nets and discarded fishing nets.

How come all our product names refer to a specific ocean region?

We choose the names of our Bracenets to match the sea region they remind us of. This can have something to do with their color or the origin of the nets, but it does not always mean that the nets come from there. A name like “North Sea Bracenet” does not necessarily indicate that the net for this bracelet comes from the North Sea.

For example, we might name a net after the sea region from which our partner organizations first recovered it. If we receive a net of the same color from a different sea region in the future, it will still keep its original name. If you are interested in the exact origin of the net in one of our products, take a look at the product description. There we always state as precisely as possible where the net comes from and refer to it as “recovered ghost nets”, “disused fishing nets” or “former fishing nets”.

Can I also send you old fishing nets?

Have you found a ghost net while diving or on the beach? Do you work in a fishery and don't know what to do with your old nets? Then get in touch with us! Because every old fishing net that we make harmless forever is a win for the oceans - and it's even better if we can give it a new life as a statement for the protection of the oceans and marine animals.

Send us some details about the network using this form . We will review the information and then get in touch to discuss how to proceed. Thank you for your commitment to the oceans!

Do you have any more questions?

To summarize: We get the former fishing nets for our products from many different sources. These include both recovered ghost nets and discarded fishing nets: We get recovered ghost nets from our partners such as Healthy Seas, Ghost Diving and Sea Shepherd, who collect these nets directly from the sea with their diving teams; we get discarded fishing nets directly from fisheries so that they can never become ghost nets. You can find the exact origin of a specific net in the respective product description.

Do you have any further questions? Then please contact us via hello@bracenet.net !