ECOALF CREATES A DIGITAL EXHIBITION TO SHARE THESE FISHERMEN’S TALES

Ecoalf foundation has created a short documentary and a digital exhibition that showcases the portraits of the fishermen that are fighting against marine litter, giving them a voice to share what they witness on a day-to-day basis and raise awareness on the state of our oceans.

75% OF MARINE DEBRIS IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN.

Ecoalf, the sustainable lifestyle brand, created Ecoalf Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to sensitize communities to the impact of plastic pollution through projects like Upcycling the Oceans.

Born in 2015, this initiative’s mission is to clean the oceans of marine waste with the help of the fishing industry and to give a second life to plastic waste through recycling and closing the loop, an example of this is converting the recovered waste into Ecoalf’s high-quality Ocean Yarn. The initiative began with three fishermen in a port in Villajoyosa and has since expanded to includemore than 4,000 fishermen across Spain, Thailand, Greece, Italy, and France.

  • Pedro
    V.Ivars,
    54

    FISHERMAN For 35 years (Calpe, Valencia)

  • "To other fishermen I would say we're not going to be able to take everything out, but what we've taken out... it's no longer there."

8 MILLION TONNES OF PLASTIC END UP IN OUR OCEANS EVERY YEAR.

As each of these fishermen pulls in his or her net, mixed among the fish is plastic and waste. This is the moment when they can decide to take a stand and make a difference or leave it for the next person to deal with. This daily decision to be part of the solution, multiplied by 4,000 fishermen has led to the removal of more than 1,000 tonnes of plastic from the bottom of the ocean. This digital exhibition is meant to honor these fishermen and inspire change across the planet.

  • Nacho
    Llorca,
    49

    HEAD FISHERMAN for 30 years (Villajoyosa, Valencia)

  • “Without the help of the rest of the world, no matter how much the fishermen fight, I feel like this is all for nothing.”

  • Cyril
    Montalieu

    FISHERMAN For 18 years. (rau d’Agde, France)

  • "We have to be responsible with our waste, stop throwing it anywhere and let it stay in nature forever, but throw it in a waste bin".

"When it rains, all of this gets caught in the riverbeds and all of it goes to the ocean… everything ends up in the ocean."

Xavi Ivars, 53

FISHERMAN For 35 years. (Calpe, Alicante)

"We need to be sure that the waste doesn’t go back into the sea. How? By recycling. "

José Pino, 59

FISHERMAN For 45 years. (Burela, Galicia)

"These fishermen are the true changemakers that are fighting against marine litter. We want to give them the opportunity to share with the world what they see everyday to encourage each individual to be part of the solution."

Javier Goyeneche, Ecoalf Founder & President

These ocean heroes spend more than 12 hours a day at sea and have seen the decline of our oceans. They are doing everything that they can to combat the growing plastic pollution , but they need the world’s help. Ode to Our Ocean Heroes: The Fishermen will allow them to share their story and their plea to join the effort in tackling global plastic pollution. These 4,000 fishermen have accomplished so much, but if we all incorporate their daily decision to be part of the solution rather than the problem, we can make a deeper change. Together, we can save our oceans.

Now, our objective is to reach more than 10,000 fishermen by the year 2025 and recovered 1K tonnes of trash from the Mediterranean Sea each year.

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