Final 2024 Operation Ghost Farms Cleanup

A Collaborative Effort of Clean-ups, Education, and Community Engagement to Address Marine Pollution in Abandoned Fish Farms in Western Greece

October 31st, 2024 – Western Greece – Healthy Seas, in partnership with Hyundai Motor Europe and other partners, has concluded its year-long “Operation Ghost Farms – Reclaiming Waters” with a comprehensive clean-up in Menidi, Gulf of Amvrakikos. Ghost farms are abandoned fish farms whose structures, left to degrade at sea, pollute coastal areas and cause significant damage to marine flora and fauna, as well as to local communities that rely on these waters. This mission, the third of its kind in 2024, showcases Healthy Seas’ commitment to reclaiming polluted waters, engaging communities, and preventing marine pollution at its source.

The clean-up in Menidi, unlike previous operations in Ithaca and Patras, targeted a recently abandoned fish farm, allowing for effective intervention before severe degradation occurred. The efforts included removing fish nets, 35 big buoys, and 43 floating rings, numerous other items and retrieving a half-sunken maintenance boat from the sea. On land, volunteers tackled the cleanup of coastal litter, including household waste discarded by private citizens and broken Styrofoam from fish farm operations.

The collected materials, such as fishing nets, will be processed for recycling. Healthy Seas, through its partner Diopas, which serves as a hub for old fish farming nets, will send suitable nets from the clean-up to Aquafil for transformation into ECONYL® regenerated nylon for new products. Pipes and other structures have been allocated for recycling, with some going to local recycling facilities, others to a local construction company for reuse, ensuring reuse and a circular approach to waste management.

Ecological and Social Impact: Ghost farms contribute to widespread ecological damage, releasing debris, plastics, and pollutants that disrupt marine ecosystems, endanger local flora and fauna, and pollute coastal areas. These abandoned structures also pose significant socio-economic risks, compromising maritime safety for fisheries, tourism, and other vessels navigating these waters. Through the removal of hazardous materials, the Healthy Seas Foundation’s efforts not only restore the marine environment but also protect resources essential to the well-being and livelihood of coastal communities.

Partners: This mission is a collaborative effort between the Healthy Seas foundation and Hyundai Motor Europe, supported by a diverse group of organizations and institutional partners.

Associated partners include Aquafil, Diopas, Ozon, the European Outdoor Education Hub, We Dive We Clean, Odyssey Outdoor Activities, and DOTANK Plus, which served as our impact strategy and project development advisor.

We also appreciate the support from our institutional partners: the Municipality of Nafpaktia, Municipality of Xiromero, Municipality of Ithaca, Municipality of Amfilochia, the Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian, the Hellenic Public Real Estate Agency of Aetolia-Acarnania, and the Port Authority of Nafpaktos. This project operates under the auspices of the Region of Western Greece and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Greece.

Results (May project and October project):

October Clean-up:

• People involved: 6 days and 35 people
• 128.5 tons of marine litter collected – equal to about 50 big containers
• Of which 50.9 tons of fishing nets

May Clean-up:

• People involved: 30 people, 8 days
• 42.7 tons of litter collected – equal to about 15 big containers
• Of which 11.3 tons were fishing nets.

Harbor Clean-ups: Two locations cleaned (Astakos and Mytikas).

This year’s successful missions demonstrate the power of collaboration in tackling marine pollution. Healthy Seas and Hyundai Motor Europe encourage ongoing community and partner involvement to sustain and expand these crucial conservation efforts.

More information about ghost farms, previous projects and coverage: https://www.healthyseas.org/knowledge/ghost-farms-problem/