BRACENET X MALTA UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE
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a subaquatic museum
Have you ever been to Malta? The archipelago south of Sicily is home to many historical sites. And not only on land but also underwater! On the seabed, you can find countless significant archaeological finds – from a 2,700-year-old Phoenician boat to Roman and early modern shipwrecks to dozens of crashed planes, submarines and warships from World War I and World War II. Today, it's all part of an underwater museum overseen by the Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit, a project of the Government of Malta. A core task of this team is the protection of these underwater treasures.
ghost net recovery
But what do the wrecks have to be protected from, considering that some of them have already survived thousands of years without external help? Among other things, from ghost nets! They don't necessarily harm the cultural sites themselves, but life around them – they threaten the marine flora and fauna as well as diving guests of the underwater museum. That's why in 2020, the team has begun to recover ghost nets that were present on a number of these wrecks. So far, three shipwrecks and a plane have been freed from nets. We have now made four new products from these nets for you!
UPCYCLING SALVAGED FISHING NETS
