The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most overfished seas in the world. According to the European Environment Agency, over 65% of the fish stocks in the area are beyond safe biological limits.
In the Greek seas, fishing can be split into two main categories, large-scale, deep water fishing and small-scale coastal fishing. Large scale deep water fisheries are comprised of vessels using techniques such as bottom trawling and purse seine and make up approximately 3% of the Greek fishing fleet which contributes 50% of the fish catch. Small-scale coastal fishing is more associated with the island and coastal communities where it makes up a vital part of the local economy and represents 97% of the Greek fishing fleet contributing the other 50% of the total national fish catch. The small-scale, local fishing is also very traditional with recent archeo-zoological studies showing that the species fished by Aegean fishermen 10,000 years ago, are almost the same as those fished by coastal fishermen today.
In recent years, however, fisheries production has declined having large negative consequences on the local economy of the island and coastal communities as well as impacting the economy of Greece as a whole. This has made it obvious that the current framework of fisheries management and monitoring in Greece, which does little to prohibit or monitor overfishing or destructive and illegal fishing practices, is highly inefficient and leads to extensive decline of the fish stocks. Some of the problems with the management of Greek fisheries are listed below.
Problems with the fisheries management in Greece
1. Lack of conservation of protected habitats
According to EU legislation, it is forbidden to fish with towed fishing gear in regions covered by protected habitats, such as Posidonia meadows and coralligene reefs. In connection with EU regulation 1967/2006, Greece is obliged to ensure the collection of scientific data, in order to locate and map the regions covered by these habitats. However, in Greece there has been only minimal official mapping of Posidonia meadows and none of coralligene reefs, meaning it is impossible to carry out any efficient implementation of management measures. This has meant that highly destructive fishing activities continue to take place in these fragile habitats, which can take from a hundred up to thousands of years to recover.
2. Minimal number of areas where fishing is restricted/managed
A network of areas with fishing restrictions placed on them, which Greece is obliged to have created according to EU legislation, could conserve marine productivity and aid toward the sustainability of Greek fisheries. The few existing protected areas or regions which have links to fisheries regulations have been operational for over a decade and have shown themselves to be insufficient in number and size to combat the decline in fisheries productivity.
3. Lack of protection of protected species
The Greek seas support a large number of rare, protected and endangered species including marine mammals and turtles, as well as several species of shark, fish and invertebrates. These species have been defined as protected and/or threatened by EU legislation and by a number of international conventions of which Greece is a signatory of and therefore is obliged to enforce their protection.
However, against the current international and national legislation, some of these species are being caught (deliberately or as by-catch), retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred and sold; and the relevant authorities are not being informed during the majority of these occasions. This is something which will have to change if the decline in marine biodiversity is to be reversed.
4. Fishing and selling of undersized marine organisms
According to Greek legislation, many species are allowed to be fished much smaller in size than that defined by EU legislation. A major problem of Greek fisheries is that there is no control mechanism which ensures that the current minimum catch size criteria are being followed. In the main Greek fish markets, as well as in peripheral markets, large quantities of marine organisms which are smaller than the minimum catch size are being sold, including a number of protected species.
Table 1. Minimum allowed fishing size according to Greek legislation, EU1967/2006, and proposed sizes according to the minimum size at reproduction per species
5. Inefficient operation of the Fishing Monitoring Centre
The Fishing Monitoring Centre receives, through the satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System, information on the location of fishing fleets, and in this way can control illegal fishing activities. Unfortunately this very expensive system, which has been setup with the aim of limiting illegal and destructive fisheries, (but also to ensure the safety of the boats and their crews) is operating inefficiently. The data collected by the systems is not cross-checked with the real data of the position of the fishing vessels, a fact which is proven by the continuous violations observed especially during the night, and/or in regions difficult to approach.
Illegal Unregulated and Unreported Fisheries in the Greek Seas
Extending to roughly 18,000km in total, the Greek coastline is one of the largest in the world, consisting of over 6000 islands, 227 of which are inhabited. Of the 17,216 fishing vessels currently operating in Greek waters (European Fleet Register), a large percentage is made up of small-scale fishermen. Their distribution along these extensive coastlines greatly reduces the efficiency with which fishing activities can be monitored and as a result the total catch of Greek fishermen is difficult to quantify. As a consequence, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices occur on a regular basis.
These illegal and often destructive practices tend to take place at night, in adverse weather conditions and in remote areas of the Greek seas. These practices are known to take place daily, both by large commercial and local artisanal vessels, both Greek and foreign, using a variety of fishing gear. Despite this, there are no official reports of these activities taking place, making IUU fisheries near impossible to monitor with Greece’s current monitoring procedures and infrastructures.
Inadequate monitoring schemes are not only to blame however, as poor communication between national fisheries authorities and fishermen often results in information regarding IUU practices not being reported. In fact, as seen in the Third Edition of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Compliance Scoreboard, Greece has a history of not reporting its catch data to the relevant authorities with 3 out of 6 reports requested by the European Commission in 2004 never being submitted, undermining the basis and purpose of the CFP.
Worldwide IUU activities amount to approximately €10 billion every year, representing roughly 19% of the global catch value. The fact the products of IUU fishing form a significant portion of the worldwide catch presents considerable environmental and socio-economic problems, particularly in communities where fishing is a primary source of income.
Although not a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Income of Greece (0.3 – 0.4%), the fisheries sector plays a vital role in maintaining the socio-economic stability of many coastal areas as well as the Aegean and Ionian islands. As such it is considered to be of great importance within the national economy. The presence of IUU fishing in Greece therefore has the potential to severely impact upon the stability of the already struggling Greek economy and with overfishing currently so difficult to monitor, fish stocks are in danger of being exploited beyond the point at which they will be able to recover.
Archipelagos Action against IUU Fisheries
Archipelagos collaborates with a network of fishermen throughout the Greek Seas, who provide valuable confidential information about IUU activities in their area. This data is verified and reports are compiled describing in detail these incidents. Archipelagos makes use of these reports to continuously apply pressure to the port authorities and relevant national authorities to crack down upon known occurrences of IUU activities.
The increasing information that is provided daily to Archipelagos by numerous fishermen from all over Greece, in relation to IUU practices is very encouraging. The development of a sense of responsibility by the fishing communities for the health of their seas and fishstocks, is a prerequisite for the sustainable exploitation of the seas, and the future of fisheries.
Archipelagos’ Fisheries Research and Conservation Work
Development of management- conservation schemes
Archipelagos works in close collaboration with local fishermen’s associations, the Greek fishermen’s confederation, as well as the local authorities of various Aegean islands, for the collection of data related to fisheries practices, production, Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fisheries, and works towards the development and application of fisheries management and conservation schemes.
Assessment of fisheries production
The production and species composition of the retained catches from coastal small scale fisheries vessels is assessed throughout the year, in various parts of the eastern Aegean Sea. This assessment is carried out in small-scale local fishing ports, giving an overview of the state of local fisheries in areas otherwise undocumented. The knowledge produced from long term catch-composition studies is a necessary requirement for the development of sustainable management measures for the multispecies and multi-geared Greek small scale fisheries.
In the last 2 years, special emphasis has been given to the region of SW Samos Island, where catches are recorded on a daily basis. Since this region has high fisheries productivity, Archipelagos is designing a self management scheme for a pilot fisheries protected area in close collaboration with the local authorities, fishermen and local communities.
Action against IUU Fisheries
Archipelagos collaborates with a network of fishermen throughout the Greek Seas, who provide valuable confidential information about IUU activities in their area. This data is verified and reports are compiled describing in detail these incidents. Archipelagos makes use of these reports to continuously apply pressure to the port authorities and relevant national authorities to crack down upon known occurrences of IUU activities.
Interview based surveys
Interview based surveys of the fishing communities, are carried out in various parts of the Greek seas. These surveys aim to collect information on:
• Fishing techniques and practices, gear characteristics, including both past and current methods
• Historical data of fisheries productivity and trends
• The socio-economic importance of fisheries for the local island communities
• Data on frequency, extent and replacement cost of damages to fishing gear caused by protected marine species (which are mainly by solitary bottlenose dolphins and monk seals)
• Proposals for management measures for local fishermen, aiming to reduce the impacts current fisheries practices cause to marine ecosystems and fish-stocks
Analysis of fish samples
Selected fish samples undergo further analysis, including otolith analysis, geometric morphometrics and ecotoxicological assessment. In all cases fish are sampled immediately post capture and have their length, weight, sex and maturity determined.
• Otolith analysis for the determination of fish age: Otoliths are calcified structures in the head, which are used as part of the balance system in bony fish. As the fish grows, new material is deposited on the surface of the otolith. The life cycle of the fish, as well as environmental changes, cause each layer to fluctuate between being opaque and translucent. The result is very similar to a tree cross section. Otolith analysis provides very important information on fisheries biology, which allows effective management of fish populations.
• Fish Morphometrics: The use of morphometrics can show differences among fish of the same species, as well as differences in different species. This is achieved through the identification of a specific number of points on the fish, called landmarks. These landmarks are photographed and they are digitally analysed using image analysis software.
• Fish ecotoxicological assessment: Preliminary ecotoxicological assessment of heavy metal and organochlorine content of selected fish species from the Greek Seas in order to assess their suitability, as a commercial food in relation to the criteria set under the European Regulations on food hazards to human health. These 'Persistent Toxic Substances' (PTSs) are insoluble and/or stable compounds; they are not easily broken down and therefore remain within organism’s tissues. The concentration of PTSs increases as they ascend the food chain, resulting in detrimental health in predators, and as such pose a significant human threat.