At the end of the coastal city of Libya, Mokhtar al-Ramma Preepares prepared his beat-up plastic boat to take out another fishing trip. By reducing its wearing and nervous nets, it indicates the scattered surface of the sea waste.
“Thesis net now catches only plastic,” Heer said. “It seems that we are cleaning the sea instead of living with it.”
Plastic waste, which enters the Mediterranean Sea at the rate of 730 tonnes according to the United Nations, is not the only concern for it. After decades of fishing water connecting southern Europe and North Africa, he said the industrial traler said that “everything, even small, teenage fish,” are cleaning the sea “every day.”
In addition, he said that the capital of Libya, near Tripoli, is killing sewage, fish and sponge population issued by cities, while coastal recovering is disturbing the breeding basis for some species.
Al-Ramasma said, “What is happening here is not normal,” saying that it sometimes seems as if there is no sea at the door in Libya. “We have one of the longest coasts in the region, yet we import fish from abroad.”
Al-Ramasma said that he and other fishermen hope that Libya’s environment ministry will take action to protect the sea and what he is as “continuous destruction” of his only source of income. “We have sent letters and demands, but no one responds.”
Shared struggle
Haj Abdel Nabi, along with the coast near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, sits on the dock while inspecting his own net. Now in his 60s, he remembers a time when the sea provided a rich grip.
“In the past, we used to come back with 100 kg of fish, but today we only get 10 more, we do nothing,” Heer said.
He said that the tralers are at least partially to blame, with the same vessel “more jointly than local fishermen.” Like Al-Ramash, Hey Hah has taken his concerns for the municipal and the Ministry of Environment, but has not yet responded.
Algeria’s environmental report, which shares a beach with Libya and Egypt, has shown the lack of species discovery as Pillchard, which is important for the country’s fishing industry.
Algerian officials told DW that 1,300 tonnes “sardine seeds” – teen fish that is smaller than 11 centimeters (4.3 in) in Langath – annually, often illegally. Researchers warned that catching adolescent fish reduces the population and disrupts the sea food chain.
What are the solutions?
As the local Fisher, Mokhtar al-Ramasma and Haj Abdel Nabi have felt the joint weight of the problems faced by the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt has presented a national plan to implement its coastal environment.
The plan presented at a conference in July will be to restore two coastal lakes and to build about 70 kilometers (about 43 mi) coastline as sand dune dike. Cairo is aiming to reduce the use of plastic through extended productive responsibility that will impose fees on manufacturers and importers of plastic bags.
Environment Minister Yasmin Fauud announced the initiative to provide additional income for fishermen, including them in marine waste collections and recycling, as well as monitoring water quality for pollution.
“Protecting the Mediterranean Sea is no longer to environmental choice. It is a social and economic need,” he said.
So this is a climate requirement. Scientific studies suggest that the oceans have absorbed approximately 90% of the additional heat generated by the industrial revolution by the Human Activity Sion in the 19th century, which holds additional strings on the delicate marine ecosystem. And experts say that the increase in temperature, the fall in rainfall and the increase in sea levels are among the factors affecting the Mediterranean Sea.
Are global ocean protection commitments sufficient?
Algeria recently announced a project that the old Digis was connected to the Union for the Mediterren, 43-state inter-governmental organization to monitor fishing activity and join its ports to the electronic tracking system.
In June, 55 countries signed a high -sea treaty, aims to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. In the Global Ocean regime, it will build milestones-other things as well as protected areas and apply activities to the discovery of activities as fishing, shipping and deep sea mining-one time 60 countries confirmed this. This can occur by the end of the year.
170 seen in June came together in France, announcing the Ocean’s good action plan. It asks to include fisher in environmental data collection, prohibits fishing in deep sea in delicate ecosystems and supports blue economy projects as a path for sustainable development.
European countries have promised to invest € 1 billion (about $ 1.2 billion) in the Ocean Protection initiative in the coming years. This included support for the country in Global SouthStrict maritime conservation, and advanced monitoring of pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.
But those who live by the sea are not convinced of all security promises. Tunisian captain and now independent environmental activist, Sameer Sheikh al-Zaganani said, “It is difficult to believe that when some of the largest funds are the worst pollutants in the world.”
Fishermen like al-Ramasa want to be directly involved in protecting the water around them. “We know the sea, and we can protect it, but we do not have equipment,” Heer said. “If they keep giving us a net to others, nothing will be left for us.”
This article was original in Arabic. It was built as part of the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference Fellowships
