Location: Catalina Island

Site: The Midnight Hour

Boat: Giant Stride

Net Retrieval: Curtis Wolfslau, Rene Tetter, Andrew Hung, Juan Torres

Documentation: Norbert Lee, Daniel Pio

Surface Support: Angie Biggs, Jeremy Jodoin

Mission Impact: 300 pounds of net removed (approximately 700 square feet) and delivered to Aquafil for recycling.

Ghost Diving USA set out aboard the Giant Stride to continue our cleanup of the site we call the Midnight Hour. Back in May, our team cut and staged bunches of net at the site for a future recovery. This month’s objective was to finish what we started, cutting the prepared net free and raise it to the surface.

Andrew and Juan gearing up as we approached the site.

Topside conditions were sunny with a mild wind, and after a thorough briefing the team geared up and dropped in. Below, the divers were met with a strong current and roughly 30 feet of visibility.

On the bottom, the team located the staged net and went to work, cutting sections free, attaching lift bags, and sending them toward the surface. As always, our divers checked the net carefully for entangled marine life as they cut.

At the surface, Angie, Jeremy, and the crew of the Giant Stride hauled the net aboard. When the day was tallied, the team had raised three large sections, roughly 300 pounds and approximately 700 square feet of ghost net. That is 300 pounds of net that can no longer entangle and kill marine life, now on its way to Aquafil to be recycled and given a second life rather than left to fish forever on the bottom.

Significant net remains at the site, but it is clearing up with every trip. A great day for the team and another meaningful dent in the ghost gear off our coast. We will be back for the Midnight Hour.

A very special thank you to the crew of the Giant Stride, and to our partners at Healthy Seas, Hyundai USA, and Aquafil for supporting our clean-up efforts.