Parts of fishing nets recovered from submerged sites by Heritage Malta have been recycled into bracelets and keychains thanks to a collaboration between the German company Bracenet and Heritage Malta’s Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit (UCHU). In 2020, the UCHU and ATLAM Subaqua Club initiated net removal dives on a number of underwater historic sites. To date, four protected wreck sites have been cleared of ghost gear – a Junkers JU88 bomber, a B24 Liberator bomber and two shipwrecks, HMS Nasturtium and the bow of HMS Southwold. The recovered nets were sent to Germany and recycled. Ghost gear – abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear – constitute around 10% of the plastic waste that enters the world’s oceans every year. In addition, it is estimated that around 70% of floating macro-plastics are made up of ghost gear. T Historic wreck sites act as catchment areas for discarded fishing gear, entangling and damaging historic remains and marine life. The nets also pose a danger for divers.