Beneath the sea

One of the events that occurs in Villefranche - more specifically the "rade" or Bay of Villefranche - with surprising frequency is the discovery of something under the water.

On some occasions, it is garbage, literally. The bay has for far too long been the cesspool for ships of all kinds and residents all around the area. That is changing quite fast, finally, but divers and others occasionally find the remnants of something discarded into the water that continues to have an impact on sea life, or our health. New construction projects for handling waste from the land are likely to reduce dramatically, if not eliminate, waste water discharge, as it is often called. [I will add some links to more information about all of this.]

Similarly, there are the occasional sea dangers, perhaps irregularities is a good word. These run from various developments that cause the death of fish or other marine life to the arrival of jellyfish. Occasionally, one majestic creature or another rears its head in the bay as well.

There are a couple of good ways to check on sea water quality. [I will add the best links.]

Going further back in history, but still popping up, so to speak, now and again, are artifacts left over from World War II, and also from other 20th century conflicts that brought war ships to Villefranche. I do not recall any of these that resulted in anything other than safe disposal. [I will add a photo or link to show examples of this.]

Finally, since the bay has been here for a very long time and it has been used for commerce, or at least for safe anchorage, for a very long time, divers regularly discover archeological treasures on the bottom. These range from entire ships to bits and pieces of pottery and other items lost or discarded at sea. One never knows, in opening today's issue of th Nice Matin newspaper what new archeological find may have emerged from the bay. [I will add some links here, too.]