We are very pleased to welcome Enaleia, the first school of Professional Fishing in Greece, to our growing list of partners. In the framework of this cooperation, a collection point for old fishing nets was set up together with the Professional Fishermen Association of Microlimano. Through this effort our goal is to see that less nets are left is the seas. Now, the useless nets will be delivered to Nofir to be prepared for recycling. Nofir was established in 2008 in Norway, aiming to reduce marine pollution caused by discarded equipment from the fishing and farming industries. In the next step, the nylon nets will be delivered to Aquafil to be transformed and regenerated into ECONYL® yarn, a high-quality raw material used to create new products, such as socks, swimwear, underwear and carpets.

Lefteris Arapakis, Founder of Enaleia describes: “Old-school fishermen were hesitant to give up their useless nets at first. They didn’t want to go to the trouble since we are not offering a financial incentive. As soon as we showed them what can be created out of their old and useless nets they became excited and joked that they were going to create new fashion trends! Our partnership with Healthy Seas aims at exemplifying sustainable solutions so that Greek fishermen will chose to join us. Sustainable fishing practices are taught within the curriculum of Enaleia and emphasise on solutions that not only promote sustainable fishing but at the same time strengthen the fishermen’s income. Fish less is not a solution. We say, fish smart so that with less fish you have a higher income. Export, processing and fishing on days of higher demand are some of the solutions taught by Enaleia.”