Fishermen worm their way through Schinias
The seabed off Schinias, northeast of Athens, is being damaged by fishermen who are damaging the marine ecosystem while the local coast guard is powerless to intervene, an investigation by Kathimerini’s Eco magazine has discovered. Local residents recently complained that they were finding large craters in the seabed. It emerged that these were being created by fishermen using special equipment to blow air at the seabed in order to flush out worms that they use for bait. Environmentalists say that the practice seriously damages the local marine ecosystem and the quality of the water at Schinias, which is popular with bathers, as the worms help clean the water. The local coast guard has not been able to catch the fishermen in the act as it does not have any divers.
