I Tied Myself Up In Nets Underwater To Convey Ghost Fishing’s Toll On The Ocean

What if I told you that a single abandoned fishing net could last for up to 400 years in the ocean… killing and tangling marine life, and coral reefs?

Fishing vessels abandoning or losing their nets, lines and other gear in the ocean causes major problems for marine life and ocean ecosystems. This derelict gear continues to fish for centuries in the sea.

They call them ghost nets, but I call them… silent killers.

To raise awareness about this issue, I partnered up with the photographer, Jose Cano, in his newly renovated underwater photography studio in Nelson, New Zealand. Kungy, our makeup artist, spent the day expertly creating costumes out of bandages for myself and the two other models, and we worked with multiple net setups underwater.

The goal was to highlight the pain, struggle, and resignation these nets cause in the ocean by using a human canvas instead of shots of tangled marine life.

As consumers, we have the ability to ensure the incentive for economic solutions related to ghost nets. Because here’s what works really well for this issue: net buyback programs. There are companies hard at work training and paying fisherman to reclaim lost gear, and then regenerating the nylon waste from ghost nets into new materials to create products – everything from swimwear to skateboards.

For this series, I’m asking you to commit to a 30 day challenge to use hashtag #SilentKillers, and spread the word through social media about businesses and initiatives that are helping to turn reclaimed ghost nets into sustainable products. Because together, we can champion ocean heroes. And become them ourselves.

Choose to share any or all of solution partners I’ve highlighted below:

1) Global Ghost Gear Initiative

2) Healthy Seas

3) ECONYL

CREDITS

Art direction, modeling & editing: Christine Ren

Photography: Jose G. Cano

Hair & MUA: Kungy Gay Cano

Additional models: Emma Porteus, Moana Mink

BTS footage: Brad Watt

Assistant: Caroline Trembath

More info: christinerenfilms.com