Healthy Seas, in collaboration with Hyundai Europe, has launched a year-long mission to clean waters from abandoned fish farms along the Western coast of Greece. Commencing with an intensive ten-day cleanup near Patras and Ithaca, this initiative seeks to rejuvenate marine environments and bolster local communities. Over these ten days, they also conducted educational programs in primary schools and university workshops, including marine conservation workshops and interactive learning sessions.
Operation Ghost Farms: Reclaiming Waters takes a holistic approach to addressing the urgent issue of ghost farms. This effort emphasizes the immediate importance of cleaner seas. A recent survey with OZON NGO mapped out 440-450 nautical miles of coastline, identifying 150 potential hotspots of fish farming-related debris. This revealing data underscores the magnitude of the challenge and the pressing need for immediate action.
Veronika Mikos, director of Healthy Seas, an 11-year-old organization active in 22 countries, states that Greece is a priority for her NGO, which has been cleaning up abandoned fisheries since 2021.
In 2022, with Hyundai’s support and alongside Ghost Diving and other partners, Healthy Seas organized a massive cleanup project from March until June. This project, which involved local fishers and volunteer divers, focused on 14 locations around the island, including the ghost farm and the harbour of Vathy. A staggering 23,500 kg of waste was removed, including 18,500 kg of nets and 5,000 kg of other types of marine litter, such as several hundred meters of gillnets and long lines, plastic bottles, and fishing gear.
The collected waste is sent to companies that create products from recycled materials, such as swimming trunks and jewellery. In 2022, volunteers removed 25 large fish farming nets from the ‘ghost farm’ in Kalavri, Ithaca. Divers from the Netherlands, UK, Lebanon, Hungary, and Greece coordinated efforts to cut and attach lift bags to the nets. Once surfaced, a barge with a crane lifted the nets out of the water and placed them in containers for recycling. These nets will be regenerated into ECONYL® yarn, a sustainable nylon yarn which serves as the foundation for new products like socks, swimwear, activewear, carpets, and more.
This year, one of the main issues was Styrofoam, which poses significant long-term environmental challenges and is very difficult to clean due to its small size and ease of scattering. Styrofoam does not decompose naturally. Instead, it breaks down into ever-smaller fragments when exposed to sunlight. Styrofoam’s resilience and long-lasting nature mean that once it becomes part of the environment, it is extraordinarily challenging to eliminate entirely.
It is imperative to prevent ghost fishing and halt ocean degradation. Fish farm companies should restore the environment after vacating a location.
Building on past successes, such as cleanups in Ithaca, the initiative is expanding to address multiple locations in the long term. Gratitude extends to all involved, including volunteer divers from Ghost Diving, Diopas S.A., Odyssey Outdoor Activities – Ithaca, Greece, European Outdoor Education Hub, Embassy of the Netherlands in Greece, and OZON NGO.