Adriatic 7: A Week of Ocean Action Across the Croatian Coast
Seven days, seven destinations and one shared mission to remove ghost gear from the Adriatic Sea
What does it take to protect the sea along an entire coastline? Sometimes it means spending a week living aboard a dive boat, travelling from harbour to harbour, recovering abandoned fishing gear from beneath the surface and connecting with local communities along the way.
Healthy Seas and Ghost Diving Adriatic embarked on Adriatic 7, a seven-day mobile cleanup mission along the Croatian coast, made possible through the support of Xometry. Travelling between Rabac, Mošćenička Draga, Cres, Mali Lošinj, Veli Lošinj and Ilovik, we combined underwater cleanup operations with community engagement while documenting the journey as it unfolded. Rather than sharing the results at the end, Adriatic 7 invited people to experience the expedition day by day, following the divers both above and below the surface.
A moving mission for cleaner seas
Unlike traditional cleanup operations centred on a single location, Adriatic 7 followed a different approach. A fully equipped dive boat became both the team’s base and transport, allowing volunteer divers to reach multiple ghost gear hotspots across the northern Adriatic.
Each morning, Ghost Diving Adriatic volunteers searched for and recovered abandoned fishing gear from reefs.
Insights from the boat and the net recovery
Recovering what the sea cannot remove
Throughout the week, the divers recovered abandoned fish farming cages, gill nets, ropes, fishing lines and even an anchor from the seabed. In total, the mission removed seven fish cages, approximately 400 metres of net plus ropes and other discarded fishing equipment that had become hazards for marine wildlife and underwater habitats.
Ghost gear is not just ghost nets
The mission also produced moments that could never have been planned. During one of the cleanup dives, the team discovered a small catshark trapped in abandoned fishing gear. After carefully cutting it free, the animal was released back into the Adriatic, highlighting the immediate impact ghost gear removal can have on marine life.
The catshark trapped
More than a cleanup
Adriatic 7 was about more than removing ghost gear. By travelling from harbour to harbour, the expedition created opportunities to engage with local residents, visitors and organisations while making marine conservation visible along the Croatian coast.
In Cres, the team met with Ruta Group, a local initiative that gives waste wool a second life through handcrafted products and educational workshops. Their work reflects the same circular thinking that lies at the heart of Healthy Seas, demonstrating that materials once considered waste can become valuable resources while inspiring local communities to rethink how they use and value marine materials.
The mission itself was equally about the people behind it. Throughout the week, audiences also got to know the volunteer divers whose passion and dedication made Adriatic 7 possible. From preparing equipment before sunrise to hauling heavy ghost gear onto the boat after each dive, the team shared the realities, and camaraderie, of life on a week-long cleanup expedition.
The team
A shared effort for healthier seas
Adriatic 7 demonstrated that protecting the ocean is about more than removing waste from the seabed. It is about collaboration, persistence and making environmental challenges visible, not only to those who live along the coast, but also to the thousands of people following the mission online.
Adriatic 7 was made possible by Xometry through its Blue Friday campaign, during which part of the sales generated over the campaign period was donated to Healthy Seas projects. This simple but powerful model shows how businesses can turn commercial moments into concrete support for ocean protection, helping fund cleanups, education, and awareness-raising activities where they are needed most.
