ATHENS, Greece -- As teams of Dutch and Greek divers delved into the Greek sea floor, they find an unexpected seabed cover. To their surprise, they were able to remove two tons of plastic fishing nets discarded in the ocean. The seabed of Northern Greece has been covered with plastic fishing nets that pose a huge risk to different types of marine life, especially the Mediterranean seahorse.
These discarded nets may have been blanketing the ocean floor for many years already. Not only has it covered a large area of the ocean floor, but its thickness has also become a problem too. Some of the smaller ocean creatures may have mistaken it as coral formations and have trapped themselves in the network of strings and knots. Once marine life gets tangled in the artificial web, there's little to no chance of getting out.
The nets pose a greater threat when it is broken down over time into deadly microplastic. Already there are sightings of fishes and birds alike on seashores, dying from hunger and suffocation because of mistakenly ingested plastic items. If then nets are broken down into microplastic, it can pose greater risk not only to marine life but to human health as well.
The plastic nets have been removed and the people from the coastal regions of Stratoni are working to recycle the plastic by making yarns out of the nets. These yarns, in turn, can be used to make products like sportswear, swimwear, socks, carpets and the like. According to the statement released by the Healthy Seas Organization, the goal is to keep Mediterranean seas clear from waste to help the water recover and the community to survive.
Since they started the project in 2013, the Healthy Seas Organization was able to remove a total of 453 tons of abandoned nets from the seabed. Because these plastic nets are not made from biodegradable plastics, they could remain on the seabed for years without people noticing. In fact, they can become virtually invisible, which makes it easy for marine life to get entangled.
Greece is home to some of the world's rarest and most diversified species, most of them have been listed as endangered species. From dolphins to sea turtles to seals -- all these sea creatures are likely to lose their chance for survival if their habitat is lost.
