Off the coast of Catalina Island for 15 years, the fishing vessel Midnight Hour has sat on the ocean floor—its sunken wreckage becoming a tangle of abandoned fishing nets, the kind that drift in the current while trapping debris—and marine life.
Good News Network joined divers on the water for a mission to collect the “ghost nets” and remove the threat to California wildlife.
We joined members of a partnership that has been around the world recovering tons of the tangled nets—and, perhaps best of all, some of the fibers and plastic are being separated for recycling to become new floor mats in Hyundai cars.
The nonprofit Healthy Seas teamed up with Hyundai and they’re now bringing the mission to America, after years of working together in Europe and Korea.
Under the care of another partner, Ghost Diving USA, divers were able to cut loose the netting at the Catalina wreck site and bring it up for recycling or disposal.
More than 1,300 tons of nets removed
Since 2013, Healthy Seas has recovered more than 1,300 tons of nets and marine debris worldwide. Hyundai began supporting the nonprofit back in 2021—and they orchestrated a nice symmetry by recycling the material from the ocean floor to make new mats for the car floor.
Suitable nylon material gets regenerated into a recycled yarn called ECONYL, which is turned into new products—including floor mats used in many Hyundai models sold in Europe such as the IONIQ, INSTER, SANTA FE, and NEXO.
As the divers work on the wreck site, tangled with heavy netting, every pull brings up debris that’s been collecting for years.
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Hyundai reported that across the ten countries where the partnership now operates, it has helped recover more than 320 tons of marine litter.
The mission GNN filmed near Catalina is part of a new initiative called From Sea to Shore, which includes a beach cleanup with Hyundai employees at Huntington State Beach, and an “Ocean Heroes” education workshop for kids at the local Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley.
“We are connecting different parts of the same story,” said Veronika Mikos, Director of Healthy Seas. “Removing litter from the coast, recovering ghost fishing gear from the ocean, and inspiring children to understand and protect marine life.”
And, inspiring everyone to remember that trash pulled from the ocean doesn’t have to remain trash forever.
WATCH, as our video takes you underwater with divers and on deck with the crew as clean up one corner of this Southern California ocean neighborhood…
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