Divers fish out trash, 'ghost nets' from Santorini's depths
As per Santorini's mayor, the build-up of these abandoned nets has swept up thousands of fish and caused incalculable damage to the flora and fauna of our seas.
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A diver retrieves a "ghost net" from the seabed off the Greek island of Santorini (AFP)
Divers drag lethal "ghost nets" from the Aegean Sea off the stunning Greek tourist island of Santorini, which have killed thousands of fish.
"These abandoned nets are like fish traps," said diver Mika Panagiotopoulou, one of a group of volunteers who have been diving down to a depth of 45 meters to fish out trash, such as plastic bags, discarded nets, and tire fragments.
As per Santorini's mayor Antonis Sigalas, for half a century, "the build-up of these abandoned nets has swept up thousands of fish and caused incalculable damage to the flora and fauna of our seas."
George Sarelakos, co-founder of Aegean Rebreath, said, "For World Environment Day we want to highlight the dangers of abandoned fishing nets for our seas."
"Discarded fishing nets account for about a tenth of the world's marine pollution and it's a real challenge because up to now it has been invisible -- because most people have no idea of what in hidden in the depths," he added.
Over the past five years, the 300 volunteer divers from Aegean Rebreath have removed from Greek waterways more than 28 tonnes of nets and hundreds of thousands of plastic bags, one of the biggest threats to the aquatic environment.
Greece has taxed plastic bags since 2018, but shops continue to distribute them carelessly. However, there has been a "change of mentality among fisherman and now they are handing (nets) over to be recycled," according to Sarelakos.
An increasing number of people were becoming aware that "the riches of the sea were being exhausted," according to veteran fisherman Kyriakos Prekas, 71.
"It is hard for a fisherman to survive so they put down more and more nets, which leads to fewer fish. It's a vicious circle," he said.
