Marine Life & Conservation
Ocean loving charity goes potty for plastic (Watch Video)
The ocean conservation charity Ghost Fishing UK has teamed up with award winning innovation Ocean Plastic Pots, in the first recycling initiative of its kind in the UK.
The charity consists entirely of volunteers, most of whom are scuba divers who give up their free time to survey and recover lost fishing gear.
Despite several initiatives on the continent, meaning shipping filthy fishing gear across Europe for sorting, cleaning and recycling, the charity were keen to find a solution on their home soil.
In a stroke of luck, charity trustee Christine Grosart came across Ally Mitchell at work and the idea grew.
Glasgow based Ally had been involved in the salvage of tonnes of plastic pieces from a grounded vessel off the coast of Scotland. He wanted to see if he could make something from the plastic waste. After a few experiments, Ocean Plastic Pots was born.
Christine explains: “Ally was a saturation diver – a deep sea diver working in the north sea. I was the medic on board the same dive vessel and to me, he was just another diver.
That was until everything changed when one day he asked to speak to me – in his high pitched, mickey mouse voice caused by all the helium he was breathing at -150m!
Luckily I speak helium and he was insanely excited to tell me all about this new idea he had about turning fishing nets into plant pots.”
“His business was still in its infancy but we were super keen to send some of our polypropylene nets his way. They had been recovered from the ocean by the volunteer divers of Ghost Fishing UK and stored, awaiting a recycling pathway.
No such pathway existed in the UK at the time and only specific types of material were being accepted for upcycling – and that had to be shipped across Europe.
This meant that the large majority of our nets could not be recycled. Until now.”
Polypropylene was the waste material from lost fishing nets that nobody wanted. But to Ally, it was extremely valuable and his plant pots are made entirely from polypropylene.
He took the lion’s share of the haul of ghost nets that Ghost Fishing UK recovered from 2021, which comprised 16 survey and 19 recovery dives, resulting in 180 individual dives by the volunteers.
Approximately 1000 kg of ghost gear was recovered by the team in 2021 and a staggering 1840 kg this year.
The Ghost Fishing Uk volunteers are poised to undergo another mammoth effort sorting and cleaning the nets they recovered this year, ready for recycling and transformation into yet more award winning plant pots.
Ally said: “As a diver, I’ve been a long time supporter of Ghost Fishing UK. I was delighted to be able to recycle their recovered Ghost nets from the sea and put them back into our products, which benefit the environment”.
Ally has gone a step further and trained with the Ghost Fishing UK team, using his background expertise in commercial diving to good use. He is in a unique position to see the process through right from underwater recovery to the final end product.
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Ghost Fishing is the term used when lost or abandoned fishing gear continues to fish, round the clock, catching and killing animals that will never be landed.
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Lost fishing gear is estimated to make up almost half of the Great Pacific Garbage patch.
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Ocean Plastic Pots has won awards at the Chelsea Flower Show and Ghost Fishing UK has won the Plastic Free Awards and Fishing New sawards for their ocean clean up efforts.
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Ocean Plastic Pots were also recipients of a Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award for Sustainability and innovation.
Christine said: “We’re delighted here at Ghost Fishing UK to see Ocean Plastic Pots going from strength to strength, turning lost fishing nets found on beaches and shipwrecks and reefs, into award winning plant pots. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have this wonderful partnership”.
Stuck for a Christmas present this year? Ocean Plastic Pots are on sale now at Waitrose and John Lewis, or you can buy directly here:
www.oceanplasticpots.com/collections/all
Images and Video: Ghost Fishing UK/Ocean Plastic Pots
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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