We are in Ithaca, in a beautiful bay at the southeast of the island. Green slopes, pebble beaches and crystal clear waters compose the magnificent landscape. Here are some of the quietest beaches on the island, such as Kaminia and Pera Pigadi, while in a short distance is Nisopoulo, one of the small islands of Ithaca. The bay attracts many boats, which anchor close to the beaches or in the turquoise waters between Ithaca and Nisopoulo.
What can spoil our view in such a paradise? Garbage of course, which can be found on any beach in the planet nowadays, no matter how isolated it is. Unfortunately, here besides the usual suspects (plastic bottles and cans, ropes, nets, bags, etc.) the wind and waves have washed ashore whole pipes from the floating cages and large plastic buoys full of styrofoam, which were once equipment in a fish farm.
Probably they have not come from far away. With a quick glance around we spot some facilities in the opposite cape. So we get into the dinghy and a less than a mile north of Nisopoulo we see the first cages of an abandoned aquaculture. We pass very carefully between them, as scattered loose cables and broken pipes are on the surface. As we approach the small beach that is nearby we face the absolute horror! Everything around is covered with plastic! Huge buoys full of styrofoam, pipes, concrete, styrofoam that over time has broken into smaller pieces and has spread everywhere on land or floating in the sea.
The images are shocking and fill us with anger and sadness. We move away from the beach but before we leave we take a look at the facilities on land. The buildings are dilapidated and there is abandoned equipment all around, mainly made of plastic, which is slowly disintegrating as it is exposed to the weather.
We return to the boat totally disappointed. This fishfarm would once be a living cell for the area. A quick internet search confirms this. It is Ithaca Fisheries company. It was established in 1988 and was among the oldest integrated fishfarms in Greece. The company operated one of the largest private hatcheries in the country and two sea parks for fattening, while 46 people were employed. We do not know exactly when the company closed. The last meeting of shareholders seems to have taken place in 2017. Maybe it was another victim of the economic crisis since the fish farming sector was one of the first to be affected. However, today it is a huge source of pollution and this should not be allowed to happen. Surely someone should be responsible for picking up this mess. So we will search for it a little bit and we will come back. In the meantime if any of you know anything more, please let us know.