NGO helps clean up the detritus from abandoned fisheries
An Italian environmental economist living on the Greek island of Ithaki has undertaken to clean the seas of the stink and trash left behind by abandoned fish farms.
Veronika Mikos, director of Healthy Seas, an 11-year-old organization currently active in 22 countries, says Greece is a priority for her NGO, which has been cleaning after abandoned fisheries since 2021.
In 2021 and 2022, more than 100 tons of trash, such as nets, metals, plastics, cages and polyester foam, were retrieved from around Ithaki, and another 36 tons from the Gulf of Patra, off the town of Nafpaktos. The crew of MAKO, Healthy Seas’ ship, also retrieved a total of 12,000 liters of trash from beaches.
The collected trash is sent to companies making products from recycled material, such as swimming trunks and jewelry.
Fish farm firms are supposed to restore the environment after leaving a location.
