In the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, Mokhtar al-Rammash prepares to take his beat-up plastic boat out on another fishing trip. Untangling his worn and fraying nets, he points to the waste-scattered surface of the sea.

"These nets now catch only plastic," he said. "It feels like we're cleaning the sea instead of earning a living from it."

Plastic trash, which according to the United Nations enters the Mediterranean Sea at a rate of 730 tons a day, is not his only concern. After decades of fishing the waters that connect southern Europe and North Africa, he said industrial trawlers that "take everything, even the small, juvenile fish," are sweeping the sea "clean every day."

Added to that, he said sewage released by towns near the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is killing fish and sponge populations, while coastal reclamation is disturbing breeding grounds for certain species.

"What's happening here isn't normal," said al-Rammash, adding that it sometimes feels as if Libya has no sea on the doorstep. "We have one of the longest coastlines in the region, yet we import fish from abroad."

Al-Rammash said he and other fishermen hope the Libyan Environment Ministry will take action to protect the sea and what he describes as "a continuous destruction" of their only source of income. "We've sent letters and demands, but no one........

© Deutsche Welle