A small island in Greece is cracking down on tourists who take beach pebbles home with them.
Lalaria Beach, located on the island of Skiathos and only accessible by boat, is surrounded by picturesque white marble cliffs and has become a tourism hotspot.
“The beach has been characterised as a monument of nature known worldwide [because] of these pebbles and the green-blue water," Head of the Skiathos Cultural Center, Thodoris Tzoumas said.
"But lately we have seen that most of these pebbles were taken away. Thousands of tourists used to take the pebbles as souvenirs.”
It has led to the launch of a new campaign, “Take a picture, not a pebble", to stop the exodus.
Poster for Skiathos Cultural Center's 'Take a picture, not a pebble' campaign Source: Skiathos Cultural Center
Tourists caught smuggling the pebbles now face fines of between 400 to 1000 euros ($648 - $1620 AUD), depending on how much they take.
“We have also installed insignia on the beach and also in the boats that do the trip to Lalaria saying that it is a protected beach and asking people not to take the pebbles away,” Mr Tzoumas said.
“Return boxes” were also installed at Skiathos airport in August for pebbles to be given back.
“Knowing that a lot of pebbles were taken away by plane, we decided to install a box, which we have seen was soon full of pebbles,” Mr Tzoumas said.
The island of Skiathos is famous for its beaches and vibrant nightlife.
Lalaria Beach served as the backdrop during the recent “Mamma Mia” films - something authorities say brought more tourists to the area and partly caused the upsurge in pebble thefts.
