Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1332685
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JANUARY 2021 6 NATURE Underwater heritage site freed of encumbering net THE Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit (UCHU) within Heritage Malta, in its contin- uing collaboration with the ATLAM Dive Club, complet- ed the removal of a net from the Southwold Bow site, one of Heritage Malta's underwater sites. The Southwold Bow site lies approximately 2.4km off the Marsascala coast and rests at a depth of 65 metres. HMS Southwold was a British Sec- ond World War Hunt-class de- stroyer. In March 1942, she struck a mine and split, sinking to the seabed in two sections (bow and stern). The net removal operation was a joint effort between UCHU and the local ATLAM dive club. Six divers partici- pated in one dive, successfully lifting the net and sending it to the surface. The clearing of the South- wold Bow site is part of a larger net removal project currently being undertaken by UCHU at various Heritage Malta under- water sites. Apart from contributing to the preservation of our sub- merged cultural heritage, such operations also reap environ- mental benefits. Today, marine pollution is on the rise, and understanding its impacts on the environment is a priority. The elimination of ghost gear is an integral part of protecting the marine environ- ment. The presence of ghost gear – abandoned fishing nets, traps, pots and lines – in the world's oceans is gaining traction, with an estimated 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear left in the oceans every year. The dangers of ghost gear lie in its material durability, often floating on ocean currents and indiscrim- inately ghost fishing its way across the sea. The Mediterra- nean and Malta are not exempt from this. The threat of entan- glement is there for marine flo- ra and fauna, often attracted to and flourishing at wreck sites. The threat is also there to di- vers visiting the site, often un- aware of the dangers of ghost gear.