OCTOPUS TRAP REMOVAL

In 2022, Italy’s Tuscan Reserve became the proving ground for a new kind of direct action. Over one season, 7,672 illegal octopus traps were hauled off the seabed and hundreds of animals were released. Compliance rose as gear was confiscated, and local octopus numbers began to rebound.

The following year the focus shifted to northern Greece. A 17-day push by the Conrad removed 6,500 traps, revealing lines of cages that ran to the horizon. The scale made the problem unmistakable and showed the fishery’s impact reached far beyond a single coastline.

In 2025 the Sea Eagle returned at full strength, invited by the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and working with the fisheries department of Xanthi, the Hellenic Association of Ichthyologists, and the Greek Coastguard. Outfitted with a winch and expanded deck space, the ship began work on July 4. Within the first four days 4,650 traps were recovered, during a period when trap fishing is banned from July through September. The campaign runs for 75 days with a simple objective: remove the traps entirely so octopus populations can recover across the Mediterranean.

The results have been staggering. Decks are stacked each night with bags of confiscated gear, proof of an illegal fishery operating at industrial scale. Every trap lifted means an octopus returned to the sea, pollution stripped from the seabed, and one less weapon against the Mediterranean’s balance.

Our goal is absolute: to wipe out the trap fishery altogether. Working with regional authorities and scientists, Sea Shepherd is demonstrating that relentless action can turn the tide—removing tens of thousands of cages, freeing marine life, and giving octopus populations the chance to recover. Each haul is a step closer to a Mediterranean where octopuses thrive once more.