In the fishing community, a "fisherman's kiss" is the name given to the moment a rope or net snags around a limb — a dangerous, sometimes fatal hazard of the trade. But there's another kind of danger that's less visible and far more persistent: the plastic fishing gear that ends up in our oceans every year, entangling wildlife, breaking down into microplastics, and persisting for centuries.
This short film tells the story of Odyssey Innovation's Net Regeneration Scheme (NRS) — and why the fishing industry is at the heart of everything we do.
Watch: Now X Fishermen's Kisses
The Problem with End-of-Life Fishing Gear
When fishing nets, ropes, and gear reach the end of their working life, the options available to fishermen have historically been grim: pay for landfill disposal, store it inappropriately (where it risks blowing back into the sea), burn it, or resort to fly-tipping. None of these are acceptable — and none of them solve the problem.
Up to one million tonnes of ghost gear — lost or abandoned fishing equipment — enters the ocean every year. Once there, it continues to fish indiscriminately, entangling marine life and breaking down into microplastics that enter the food chain.
Our Solution: The Net Regeneration Scheme
Odyssey Innovation's Net Regeneration Scheme offers fishing communities a simple, free alternative. We collect end-of-life fishing gear directly from harbours across the UK — from Cornwall to Dover, and now along the Welsh coastline to Holyhead — and ensure it is properly recycled into new products.
That plastic becomes the raw material for circular economy products like our recycled marine plastic handplane and the Hönö bodyboard. Waste in, product out — and the cycle continues.
👉 Find out more about the Net Regeneration Scheme or get in touch to bring the scheme to your harbour.