Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been abandoned at sea, lost accidentally, or deliberately discarded. Acting as designed, the nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and suffocation in those that need to return to the surface to breathe.

The goal of this initiative is to promote a sustainable use and management of the used fishing nets and advocate for sustainable plastics. The general objectives of this initiative are to reduce the ghost nets found in the oceans that jeopardize the ocean ecology and promote the re-utilization of used nets in a more sustainable ways.

The expert team in PIDC will collect the used fishing nets at the ports. After washing and sorting of the recycled nets, the segments are to be re-granulated. Due to the different physical properties of Nylon products, technical adjustments are required at the re-granulation stage. By the end of this initiative, two readily applicable utilization of the recycled fishing nets will be developed.

Plastics Industry Development Center