DT
PT
Subscribe To Print Edition About The Tribune Code Of Ethics Download App Advertise with us Classifieds
Add Tribune As Your Trusted Source
search-icon-img
search-icon-img
Advertisement

Greek divers haul up ghost nets destroying marine life

Draped like curtains over the seabed, these nets trap unsuspecting sea creatures and slowly disintegrate into microplastics

  • fb
  • twitter
  • whatsapp
  • whatsapp
featured-img featured-img
A volunteer diver from the environmental group Aegean Rebreath swims in front of fish-farming nets being lifted from the seabed during an underwater cleanup off the islet of Sapientza, near Methoni, in southern Greece. Reuters
Advertisement

Divers off the coast of Sapientza Island in southern Greece have launched a determined effort to remove "ghost nets" — abandoned fishing gear that silently strangles marine ecosystems.

Advertisement

Draped like curtains over the seabed, these nets trap unsuspecting sea creatures and slowly disintegrate into microplastics, poisoning the waters and suffocating life.

Advertisement

Attaching inflatable lift bags to the heavy, tangled nets, the divers worked with precision and urgency.

Advertisement

68fa041d9baa5 23101 2025 10 23T101213Z 1555156897 RC2P9HAJ95W8 RTRMADP 3 GREECE ENVIRONMENT SEA CLEANUP
Volunteer divers from the environmental group Aegean Rebreath use lift bags to raise a fish-farming net from the seabed. Reuters

"The ghost net basically creates a dead zone — a dead zone in which nothing lives," said volunteer Alexander Stavrakoulis, scanning the horizon. "Life is becoming obsolete. This is why it is so important for these ghost nets to be removed as soon as possible.”

Sapientza, known for its pristine waters and rich marine biodiversity, is now one of many sites threatened by the legacy of farm fishing.

Advertisement

Environmental group Aegean Rebreath launched the cleanup to remove ghost nets from known hotspots before they cause irreversible damage.

Invisible to the casual swimmer, the nets drift with currents, entangling everything in their path. As they degrade, they become microscopic threats, plastics too small to see but toxic enough to enter the food chain.

"We cannot just stand there and watch sea life go extinct,” said Stavrakoulis. "We have a responsibility to act. This is a way to give something back to nature.”

Aegean Rebreath founder George Sarellakos, 46, said decades-old gaps in Greece’s legislation had allowed abandoned fish farms and discarded gear to devastate marine habitats unchecked. "Years pass but there isn't any targeted policy for this phenomenon,” he said. “What we need is a concrete legal framework that stops this from happening again."

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
tlbr_img1 Classifieds tlbr_img2 Videos tlbr_img3 Premium tlbr_img4 E-Paper tlbr_img5 Shorts