The dead body of a caretta caretta turtle was found in the sea outside the village of Paliouri in Halkidiki. The animal was tangled in the fishing line of an anchored boat at 35 meters deep, and had a very tortuous death due to suffocation in its effort to get back to the shore.
It is not the first time that divers have seen a sea turtle dead under such conditions, something that brings up one major problem in the Greek fishing industry. The numbers are shocking and they increase every year. According to the Organization of the Protection of Sea Turtles, Arhelon, a great number of turtles die every year, due to fishing nests and long
lines.
The caretta caretta is an endangered species and has to be protected. Archelon claims that turtles don’t die because of a tragic accident, but are killed on purpose by fishermen, who claim the animals destroy their nets and they lose their fish.
Only last year, there were 405 incidents in the whole country. Unfortunately, the real number is even larger because a lot of the dead animals end up on a remote coast or inside the sea.
The basic reason behind such an incident is the reduced reserve of fish in Greek seas that leads not only turtles, but other sea mammals such as seals, dolphins and whales, to a competition with the fishermen. But the lack of fish is not caused by animals, which are important for keeping the balance in their number. The cause of the problem are the illegal methods of fishing, such as the use of dynamite, and the pollution of water.
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