Ischia, Coast Guard seizes 135 meters of “ghost nets”

As part of the coordination of environmental initiatives, the campaign has also been undertaken in the waters of the green island Ghost Networks 2021.

The last of the activities took place inside theMarine Protected Area “Kingdom of Neptune” and saw the employment of the military personnel of the Second Nucleus of Underwater Operators of the Coast Guard based in Portici supported by personnel from the Maritime Directorate of Campania and specifically from theMaritime District Office of Ischia.

Divers have brought to light two ghost networks, one of the length of twenty meters and weighing about 30kg which lay on a rocky seabed at a depth of 35 metres and a second one with an extension of one hundred meters and weighing approximately 250kg.

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Ghost nets are among the main threats to marine ecosystems and, when abandoned on the seabed, they continue to perform their killer function without leaving any escape route.

Lying on the seabed there are still numerous abandoned or lost nets which constitute the most dangerous marine waste as they are capable of trap its fauna with great ease thus destined to die quickly.

Furthermore, the plastics that compose them are destined to break into small fragments, the so-called microplastics, which, when ingested by marine organisms, alter the ecosystem and enter the food chain, even affecting the bacterial biodiversity of water.

In the Mediterranean, recent research conducted in several locations indicates that fishing gear may even represent the majority of recorded marine litter, with figures reaching up to 89%.