Fishing nets recycled from Philippine beaches

A pilot project to make use of abandoned fishing nets has helped save fish and other marine life in the Philippines.

Conservationists at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have been working alongside a global carpet tile manufacturer and local partners for the past year, to save the lives of marine species.

The project, called Net-Works, involved removing 9,000 kilograms (9.9 tons) of discarded fishing nets from littered beaches along the Philippine Danajon Bank.

Those nets, which would have otherwise entangled and needlessly killed marine life, have since been recycled into a brand new carpet tile collection.

Community banks were created during the year-long project, where 892 local fishers and their families could exchange the fishing nets they collected for money to buy much-needed food.

"Abandoned or lost fishing nets are a growing problem responsible for causing enormous damage to wildlife and delicate coral reefs," said Dr Heather Koldewey, head of global conservation programmes at ZSL.

"The success of Net-Works means we've cleaned up a major source of pollution on the coastline and enabled local communities to make an income directly from their conservation activities.

"This is a rather unusual but exciting collaboration between conservation and industry," she added.

Danajon Bank has been subject to decades of pollution and overfishing, with local families living in extreme poverty and working for hours on end to catch fish.

The success of the pilot project will see Net-Works rolling out into neighbouring areas and, ultimately, around the world.

Image courtesy of Bruce Quist