Międzyzdroje Pier – an Underwater World Full of Modern Treasures

Międzyzdroje Pier – an Underwater World Full of Modern Treasures

The Międzyzdroje Pier is my favorite place on the Baltic Sea for searching for modern treasures. Underwater, you can find things no one would really expect to see – from coins and phones to laptops, wallets, electric scooters, and even urns with ashes.

THE PIER HAS ITS SECRETS

From the surface, the pier looks like one of the biggest attractions in Międzyzdroje. Underwater, the situation is completely different.

For years, I have regularly checked beneath its structure, and every time you can find something new there. You never quite know what will be lying on the bottom this time.

That’s exactly why I like this place so much.

I’m not looking here for old treasures or sunken wrecks. These are modern Baltic treasures – items that until recently were part of someone’s life.

Scooters under the pier. Retrieved.

SCOOTERS, PHONES, AND LAPTOPS

Underwater, I have found among other things phones, wallets, documents, laptops, a hard drive, and even electric scooters.

During one of the annual cleanups, someone threw two scooters off the very end of the pier.

I pulled them out of the water and reported them to the company that owned them.

This is just one example of what ends up in the Baltic Sea.

Some things people lose by accident. Others are apparently deliberately thrown into the sea.

Laptops and phones retrieved from under the pier.

THE MOST SHOCKING FIND

One of the finds stuck in my memory particularly well.

It was a transparent container with human ashes. On the packaging was the inscription “my wife’s ashes”and through the clear box, you could see a letter.

I left it exactly where I found it.

Interestingly, other divers also told me they had found similar urns under the pier.

This shows that underwater you can really come across anything.

The urn with a woman’s ashes found. It was left where it was.

THE MYSTERIOUS PURSE WITH BRICKS

There were also finds that looked like parts of a crime story.

One of them was a woman’s purse filled with bricks inside.

There was nothing valuable in it. Only small personal items – glasses, tissues, cosmetics.

It’s hard to say why someone decided to throw it into the sea.

There are more such mysteries under the pier.

Purse with bricks found under the pier.

WALLETS, DOCUMENTS, AND MONEY

Not all finds are mysterious, however.

Tourists sometimes simply lose something.

Underwater, I have found wallets, documents, money, and coins. Whenever possible, I managed to return wallets and documents to their owners.

The internet helps a lot in such situations.

But the majority are coins.

COINS THROWN INTO THE BALTIC

For years, tourists have been throwing coins into the sea “for luck.”

To me, it’s just littering.

There are tens of thousands of them lying under the pier. That’s a huge amount of metal entering the marine environment instead of being used in a much more useful way.

In my opinion, this custom should be changed.

Instead of throwing coins into the Baltic, a special container could be set up on the pier where tourists could deposit them.

The collected funds could be allocated to cleaning the Baltic Sea.

A simple idea that would preserve the tradition but at the same time turn it into something good for the sea.

Thousands of coins on the bottom under the pier. Tourists throw them in “for luck.”

AND WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Unfortunately, although I have discussed the problems under the pier with the mayor of Międzyzdroje, many things still look exactly the same..

Tires are still lying on the bottom.

People still throw coins into the sea.

The problems I mentioned earlier are still visible.

It’s a pity because these are not problems that can’t be solved.

Sometimes all it takes is a firm decision, some organization, and treating this place not only as a tourist attraction but also as a part of the Baltic Sea for which we are responsible.

AN UNDERWATER DUMP

Not all waste can be easily removed, however.

Under the pier there are still over 20 huge truck tires.

They served as fenders for the ferries using the pier. Over time, some of them ended up on the seabed, probably during storms.

These are massive pieces of waste that I cannot remove on my own.

A larger, properly organized operation would be needed for that.

And in my opinion, it’s high time to address this.

Truck tires under the pier. There are over 20 of them.

GHOST NETS ALREADY REMOVED

A few years ago, ghost nets were also a serious problem under the pier.

Lost fishing nets remained on the seabed and continued to catch and kill fish.

During one of the dives, you could see perch trapped in such a net.

Yes, perch also live in the Baltic Sea..

Over the years, I managed to remove all the fishing nets lost by fishermen that I found under the pier.

Today, the biggest problem remains primarily tires and other large-scale waste.

Releasing perch caught in the nets. Not all survived.

THE SEA SOMETIMES REVEALS THE OLD PIER

There is one more curiosity you can see around the pier. From time to time, the Baltic Sea is exceptionally generous and during strong storms it uncovers the seabed. Then, from beneath the sand, the remains begin to emerge of the old, German-era pier.

It’s a bit like underwater archaeology. Elements of the old structure, which are covered by sand most of the time, briefly appear on the seabed’s surface. Then the sea covers them again and they disappear for months or even years.

That’s why after major storms it’s worth checking around the pier – the Baltic can then show things that are normally impossible to see.

Concrete remains of the old pier. Sometimes wooden piles driven into the seabed are also visible.

WHO SHOULD CLEAN THIS UP?

The problem of tires is much more difficult than pulling out a bottle or a can.

If elements used in the operation of the pier end up in the sea and remain there for years, someone should take responsibility for their removal.

It shouldn’t be the case that profits from the activity are private, while the costs of cleaning up its consequences are borne by society as a whole later..

Nor should the environment pay the price for something left underwater.

IT’S WORTH SHOWING TOURISTS WHAT’S UNDER THEIR FEET

The pier in Międzyzdroje is a great place to combine tourism with ecological education.

Information boards could be installed showing what lies beneath the water.

It could explain why coins shouldn’t be thrown into the sea.

A coin container could be set up and the collected money used for cleaning the Baltic Sea.

Because most people walking on the pier probably have no idea how many things lie just a few meters beneath their feet.

Trash from under the pier.

THE BALTIC FULL OF MODERN TREASURES

The pier in Międzyzdroje is a special place for me.

It’s not a wreck or a sunken treasure from hundreds of years ago.

It’s the story of our times..

Phones, laptops, scooters, wallets, documents, coins, tires, and nets show what the sea looks like when humans treat it as a place where they can throw something and then forget about it.

Some of these things have been pulled out. Ghost nets have been removed. But not everything can be done alone.

And since despite the passing years tires still lie on the seabed, and people still throw coins into the Baltic Sea, it means the issue remains relevant.

That’s why I will keep checking under the pier.

Because you never know what modern Baltic treasure is waiting there to be found.

Materials from under the pier in Międzyzdroje: