Galery

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Victoria Mindova

Between 65% and 70% of fish shoals, intended for the market is fished above the determined rates, are saying members of the Greek section of Greenpeace. Their arguments are based on a study of the Institute for Protection of the Sea "Arhipelagos" according to which of the stocks red mullet, cod, swordfish and other marine animals in the Mediterranean are seriously endangered due to commercial fishing in the area. The environmental organization says that fishermen do not respect the rules for fishing and catch fish that have not reached adulthood for breeding. As a result, many shoals are decreasing without any prospects to recover in the near future.

The problem was also taken to the European Commission, before which was presented a report with an equally troubling data. According to this report 72% of fish stocks in European waters are victims of overfishing. The European Commission confirmed that the Union's efforts will focus on restoring and maintaining populations of fish stocks to levels higher than those which must produce the maximum sustainable draught by 2015. Experts say the restoration of good ecological condition of the marine environment of the EU from 2020 is crucial. If the sector remained unchanged in 2022 in Greek waters the majority of fish stocks will have finished and only 9% of the fishery will be at sustainable levels.

Researchers from the Institute "Archipelagos" advise consumers not to buy fish that are smaller than the normal size because in this way they stimulate the wronful fishing. Fish that have not reached reproductive age are increasingly finding their place in the freezers and on the windows in stores. "Do not buy fish with less than normal size. This is illegal and leads to collapse of fish stocks because have beem captured before their first breeding. In many cases even if they have reached the permited for catching a fish size, they have not reached the necessary maturity," said Anastasia Miliou whois a hydrobiologist from the Institute for Protection of the Sea" Arhipelagos ".

The representative of Greenpeace Angela Lazou added that another problem with fishing in Greece is the way in which ships do so. "There are facilities that are dragged on the seabed, uprooting and destroying important marine ecosystems, they need hundreds of years to recover, as is the case of coral and other underwater plants." Furthermore, shoals decrease and ships must enter deeper and deeper to find new stocks of fish, say the ecologists.

At the same time fishing in Greece is an important sector of the local economy and it has created over 40,000 jobs. The annual turnover from fishing is about 700 million, and about 70 percent of this money comes from exports. Contrary to the ecological researches, the Institute for commercial and industrial studies believe that the country has good stocks of fish shoals for commerce and states that Greece has every opportunity to further develop the fishing for and be established as a leader in the fishing of sea bream and sea bass. Currently the biggest producers are Turkey, Spain and Italy, and smaller than Greece are Tunisia, Israel, Egypt and Morocco. Despite the average draught Greece holds 11% of the global market of sea bream and sea bass, and according to studies of the institute that share may be increased.

Between the two extreme opinions that Greek sea waters are dieing and on the other hand, that everything is fine and draught can even increase GRReporter turned to the Panhellenic Union of owners of medium-sized fishing vessels. "If the shoals were really endangered, we would have been the first to know and we would have reduced fishing. This, however, is not true," said the President of the union Dimitris Taultzis. He said that Greenpeace presents unfoundeddata from studies of the Institute for Protection of the Sea "Arhipelagos" which however has a dubious reputation according to the owners of fishing vessels.

"Before believe to everything that experts from "Arhipelagos" say we must first check where the organization is funded from. On what grounds does it make these conclusions and who will benefit from the manipulation of the public opinion," said Taultzis. He added that two very large research institutes associated with the supervision of the Greek Mediterranean waters operate in Greece. Conclusions of the Research Institute in the field of ​​fishing, and the National Agricultural Research Foundation contradict the claims of the Institute "Arhipelagos" and show that Greek shoals that are of interest to commercial fisheries are not endangered. These research institutes provide information to the sector about how does the marine flora and fauna develop and for the moment not only there is no decrease but there is an increase in the draught said members of the union.

"I must tell you that it is not necessary to be a member of some environmental organization to have an environmental conscience and take care of the sea. It feeds us. Currently, Eco-awareness is very fashionable and organizations such as the aforementioned are trying to keep a monopoly on the public opinion. We should, however all be aware of the environmental situation, not because it has become popular lately. We all have families, children, a life here and using data that come from unknown sources is a bit dubious", said President of the Union.