A special activity on the island of winds

We returned to Tinos with a large group of Aegean Rebreath volunteers, which included the enthusiastic volunteers of Apivita and our Tinian friends. With a spirit of perfect cooperation and responsibility we started our actions from the Bay of Panormos where we managed to complete a great and difficult task; to free the bay’s sea meadows of Poseidonia from the countless ropes and cables that had remained at the sea bottom for years. Despite the strong north winds, our divers, with the help of outside assistants, managed to lift from the sea bottom many meters of ropes, heavy cables and rusty metal parts that had been suffocating the meadows. With the help of the Municipality and its services, everything was transported to the main port of Tinos in order to be transported for safe disposal, together with the rest of the waste that was removed on Sunday from the bottom of the fishing port.

At the same time, our activities focused on our research work in which young volunteers from our team and the Apivita team were enthusiastically initiated. The optimistic message from the island was the clean shores in the places we visited, a sign of responsibility of the citizens and businessmen of Tinos as they ensure that their beaches are clean despite the large number of visitors that the island receives mainly during the summer months.

Unfortunately, the negative surprises that we often face due to marine pollution were also there…on Saturday afternoon we found ourselves swimming in a “soup” of plastic bags. Tangible proof of the serious problem the Mediterranean faces as clumps of macro and microplastics travel with the currents, gradually decompose and irreparably affect marine life. A tangible proof that the health of the marine environment is a matter that concerns all of us, from our individual, daily consumption habits to the central, national policies and strategies.

We managed the complete decongestion of the sea meadows of Poseidonia!