In the lower latitudes, where the concentration of marine plastic was the highest, the humans responsible for creating these artificial polymers began to raise alarm bells about its occurrence in the marine environment. They initiated scientific investigations and partnered with coastal communities worldwide to address the issue and remove these polymers from the oceans.
Urcinetta, Urcino’s niece, was studying in Italy as part of her Erasmus program. She was learning about many things, but the Strangers bothered her a lot, particularly when they approached the food everyone was eating.
While she enjoyed the delicious Italian food, she was not a fan of the new-style polymer-based cuisine.
One Friday evening, while enjoying an aperitivo with her friends, an accident occurred 😮 …
She was inadvertently pushed into a pile of abandoned fishing gear, and she got so scared that she fainted.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself on a small boat trapped in a tangle of nets. She felt really, really scared when she understood that humans had caught her.
She couldn’t handle it, and tears started pouring from her eyes. It was all too much, and she fainted again.
Trapped in the ghost fishing nets was a Mediterranean hake as well (Merluccius merluccius). This wise fish, Hank, quickly rescued Urcinetta.
Hey, hey, wake up!
Hank exclaimed, cautiously slapping her to avoid getting hurt by his spines.
Urcinetta opened her eyes and saw the large, old fish trying to help her.
Hi! she said. Where are we?
We’ve been mistakenly caught by these good guys who go cleaning the sea
Hank explained, pointing to the logo on the boat.
They were on the Abyss Cleanup boat. The skipper had no idea he had unexpected guests onboard and was heading back to shore.
Upon reaching the shore, the team submerged the nets back into the water for cleaning, allowing them to soak overnight.
As the night arrived, Urcinetta and Hank started feeling sleepy… 
With the dawn of a new day, Urcinetta really wanted to be back home with her friends and family. But when she woke up, she saw that she was still stuck in the old fishing net with Hank, who was not feeling well. Hank, feeling weak, started sharing his amazing stories about the deep Cantabrian Sea. He talked about his friends, family, and how he had recently moved to the Mediterranean.
Sadly, he was very sick, and the doctor said he didn’t have much time left.
As Urcinetta and Hank were chatting, the Abyss Cleanup team came into the room and started untangling the nets. One team member spotted them at the bottom of the net and, taking a closer look at Hank, noticed something strange. Curious, he decided to investigate more. He put Urcinetta in a tank with sand and seawater and carefully examined Hank’s body.
The tests showed that Hank’s tissues had tiny pieces called microplastics. Not only that, but he had eaten other sea creatures like blue whiting and northern krill, and they also had microplastics in them. It was like the Strangers had affected Hank and his underwater friends.
Hank had become a victim of the Strangers and their tricky ways! 😢
Urcinetta and Hank looked at each other with concern and quickly swam back to the sea. They wanted to warn their underwater friends about the Strangers and the dangers they brought to their home!
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