The non-profit organisation Zibel, known for its regular beach clean ups around the island, has taken to social media to reflect on the hard work done by ‘Zibla’, the sea vessel that the group managed to acquire thanks to funding from The Alfred Mizzi Foundation.

Zibla was brought onto the team in 2019, and since then has played an important role in Zibel’s clean ups, allowing for access to remote areas, which in turn prevents waste that’s out at sea from re-entering beaches.

In its stint with Zibel so far, Zibla has collected and transported 53,348.26 kilograms of waste, including extensive reef clean-ups that target ghost nets, which are fishing nets that have been lost or abandoned in the sea. They are often referred to as ‘silent killers’ due to the risk they pose to marine wildlife that can get entangled and struggle to escape, potentially even leading to their death.

Over the past year, Zibel has removed more than 60 ghost nets, contributing to a total of 120 nets recovered across the Maltese Islands. These ghost nets are brought to shore by Zibla, where Zibel meticulously processes the materials for future recycling.

Thank you Zibla and Zibel for your hard work at keeping our seas clean!