This month Archipelagos’ media team, in cooperation with Microplastics research team, worked on posters and leaflets as a part of an awareness raising campaign in regards to “Why we are moving away from Plastic”. The main goal is to enlighten the public on how small plastic particles can leach from plastic materials that we all use daily (straws, single use lids etc), impacting our body with dangerous chemicals, but also impacting the environment when disposed inappropriately .

On a different note, a Christmas card was designed, giving a message not only for a happy Christmas but also for “Thoughtful” Holidays – in which we all try to reduce the impacts we cause to the environment through our daily habits.

“Fish4Life” Webpage

During this month the Media Team continued working on the “Fish4Life” webpage. Adapting the “Fish4Life” app which Archipelagos developed with TEDx Thessaloniki in 2012, we are now working on the design of a user-friendly webpage which will be a guide for sustainable fish consumption in Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean. Until now, we have uploaded information about the status of each species (is it illegal, or sustainable to consume) and their breeding season when consumption should be avoided. It also provides information about the minimum legal size, when it is illegal to catch or consumer each species, as well as the minimum sustainable size, the recommended minimum size for consumption. To keep this app more convenient for users from different countries who are normally only familiar of the common names of seafood in their own languages, we are uploading the common names of each species, apart from English and Greek, also in Spanish, Italian, Turkish, French and Croatian.

“Invasive Species” Webpage

On the Archipelagos website, we are currently developing a new section about Invasive Species in the Mediterranean Sea (link). This is part of a new project which aims to inform the public on the invasive species they may encounter, and encourage them to report their sightings.

Archipelagos has set up a “citizen-science” network with the aim of encouraging fishermen, divers, sailors and other sea enthusiasts to identify and report invasive species they might encounter in the Greek Seas and the NE Mediterranean Sea.

The webpage also provides information about the impact of invasive species on areas and how they cause devastation to biodiversity and the benthic community structure. On the webpage, Media Team members have uploaded a list of invasive fish, algae and invertebrates in three sections.