Greece may have over 150 site with waste from ghost fish farms, according to surveys conducted by Dutch non-profit Healthy Seas.
The abandoned equipment, nets, and other related waste are harmful to flora and fauna and often rest at the bottom of sea-beds or float in sea columns, like ‘ghosts’, trapping and killing sea life.
The news is unsurprising, as the aquaculture and fish-farming industry itself notes that one of its biggest impediments to development is the lack of proper regulation and enforcement, including zoning of where fish farms can operate.
According to Greek law, any fish farm that ceases operations is required to clean-up and properly dispose of all related equipment.
Taking note of what is not only a Greek problem, but rather a global challenge, Healthy Seas tackles ghost fish farms througout the world through cleanups with volunteer divers and by working with stakeholders in the fishing sector to prevent marine litter.
In many cases, Healthy Seas even turns the ghost nets into other useful products.
Clean-up Activities in Greece
According to reports by the World Economic Forum, Healthy Seas has partnered with Hyundai.
In a 10-day clean-up, Healthy Seas removed more than 42.7 tonnes of marine litter, including large nets used in fish farming, and structures including cages made of pipes and polystyrene from the sea.
It has been working on gathering marine litter off the coast of Patras and the island of Ithaca between 2021-2022.
The World Economic Forum has highlighted the project as a best practice, presenting the video of the operations, which can be viewed below.
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