They “fished” more from 6,500 illegal traps of octopuses and 52,000 meters of rope and released 571 trapped octopuses in a marine area of ​​Porto Lagos.

Within 17 days and with the cooperation of competent bodiestwo vessels of the global environmental organization Sea Shepherd, collected plastic containers – from cups to oil drums – that were being used illegally to catch octopuses. As the head of the organization’s campaigns in Greece, Valia Stefanoudaki, explains to the Athens/Macedonian News Agency, the illegality lies in the fact that from July to September all plastic traps must be taken out of the water and moreover, their number was unimaginably high at the time when only 1500 traps are allowed per fisherman.

“These plastic traps are not illegal, illegal is the season we spotted them to be in the water, in September, and indeed most of them had buoys on top» he adds, estimating that in the Thracian sea, there may also be 500,000 plastic cups permanently soaked.

“They pick them up and throw them back in again» said Mrs. Stefanoudaki characteristically. Of all the plastic traps they removed, almost 80% were disintegrating as they had been in the water for a long time, while many had served as hatcheries for the octopuses and those that had eggs in them were returned to the water.

According to Ms. Stefanoudaki, none of the plastic traps were marked, as required by law, and when they were all brought to the shore and she called the fishermen to take them, no one came since they are all illegal.

It is noted that the cooperation between Sea Shepherd Greece and Italy aims to restore the decimated octopus populations and combat marine pollution. Especially for the Thracian Sea, which is the largest octopus ecosystem in Greece and is seriously threatened by illegal fishing and plastic pollution, 2 vessels of the organization from September 7 to 28, worked under the guidance of the Port Authority of Porto Lagos and in collaboration with the Fisheries Department and the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Regional Unit.

Sea Shepherd’s campaign to protect octopuses will continue through the winter months when the shore crew will use drones to spot and report any illegal fishing activities to the Port Authority.