Crystal clear water, white sandy beaches and Mediterranean cuisine – this is how the Mediterranean Sea attracts holidaymakers from all over the world. But what is often forgotten when visiting a restaurant in the evening after a relaxing day in the sun: the fish menu often has nothing to do with sustainability and can even contribute to the destruction of biodiversity.
The Mediterranean Sea is a true biodiversity hotspot. One in ten known marine animals worldwide is found in the Mediterranean Sea, 28 percent live nowhere else on earth. These include eight whale species, dolphins and porpoises, hawksbill and green sea turtles, and about 80 shark and ray species. “We need to protect this natural jewel much better,” demands Simone Niedermüller, maritime expert at WWF Austria.
Because 20 percent of the approximately 6,000 species studied in the Mediterranean are threatened with extinction, including the great white shark, blue and angel sharks, devil and eagle rays, and sperm whales and fin whales. The marine mammal population in the Mediterranean has declined particularly sharply in the past 50 years – by 41 percent.
Overfishing and the blocking of migratory routes – the so-called “blue corridors” – are the main causes in addition to noise and pollution. Last but not least, the inland sea suffers from very high tourism: “There is an urgent need to raise awareness of the effects of our holiday activities and our consumption so that we can enjoy the diversity of this region for a long time to come,” says Niedermuller.
Shark instead of swordfish and turtles as bycatch
No other sea suffers as much from overfishing as the Mediterranean. Especially in the high season, the high fish consumption at holiday destinations cannot be covered sustainably or regionally. “So supposedly local, fresh catches often come from farms or the Far East. In addition, many endangered species such as sharks or rays end up hidden on the menu,” warns Simone Niedermüller of WWF Austria.
One of the most common seafood scams in Italy is the shark masquerading as swordfish, although the shark species in the Mediterranean are drastically overfished. On the other hand, “Shark Burger” is rather bluntly advertised – as discovered in Croatia. Even though the range of fish dishes is large, the environmental protection organization therefore recommends using vegetarian alternatives, which are just as traditional in Mediterranean countries: “Paella does not always have to be with shrimps and even vegetarian pasta can taste excellent – it There are many traditional dishes that are not associated with the devastation of the Mediterranean,” says Niedermüller.
Pollution with plastic waste
Plastic pollution in the Mediterranean is also mainly due to heavy tourism: “Tourism increases the pressure on the Mediterranean. Municipal waste processing cannot keep up with the seasonal increase in the amount of waste. During the holiday season with more than 300 million travelers, the waste load in coastal areas increases by up to 40 percent,” says Niedermüller. The equivalent of 33,800 plastic bottles per minute ends up in the inland sea – five kilograms of plastic waste accumulates every day per kilometer of coast.
Source: Krone
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