April 28th 2025

“In the Next 10–20 Years, Eating Fish May No Longer Be Safe” — Microplastics in Greek Seas

We have yet to fully grasp the burden we are leaving future generations — or how deeply we have already compromised our own quality of life.

After collecting and analysing over 30,000 samples and publishing 15 scientific studies, the findings of the Archipelagos Institute, which has been researching plastic pollution in Greek seas since 2009, are deeply alarming.

Our research has shown that fragments and fibres from plastic waste exposed to the environment have already infiltrated all levels of marine ecosystems and food chains. Shockingly, microplastic pollution was found to be just as extensive in remote regions, such as uninhabited islets of the Aegean, as on the more heavily populated coasts of Attica.

Microplastics don’t fall from the sky. They originate from the plastics we overconsume, the plastics we fail to manage in a country lacking basic infrastructure, and the plastics that end up scattered in nature due to our individual and collective neglect. Local governments — responsible for waste management in Greece — bear a significant share of this responsibility.

This doesn’t mean we should stop eating fish and seafood. In fact, most food and even bottled water now contain similar levels of micro- and nanoplastics.

What we must understand is that plastic is a hazardous material. Harmful chemicals can leach from plastic packaging into our food and water. And once plastic breaks down in the environment, it inevitably enters the food chain, on land and at sea.

Even if it’s decades late, we must begin to treat plastic as a toxic substance that requires special handling.

Read the full article in To Vima HERE