“There are snapper here,” says Yannis Psakis with a dry laugh, pointing to the shoreline as his wooden fishing boat approaches a remote beach on the Greek island of Amorgos. He’s not referring to the fish in the Aegean but the latest haul: plastic bottles, discarded shoes and even fridges.
“The first time we went out to clean, I couldn’t even see the beach through the garbage,” he says. “I felt desperate.”
Like much of the Mediterranean, those fishing in the waters around Amorgos have seen steep declines in fish stocks over the past decade, afflicted by warming waters, overfishing and marine degradation.
“We have seen more than 50 per cent drop and in some species like lobsters more than 80 per cent,” Psakis says.
In July, the Greek government announced the creation of two vast marine parks — one in the Ionian, the other in the southern Aegean — to bring more than 35 per cent of Greece’s waters under protection.
This follows the first successful national marine zone created in the northern waters, near what have become known as the “Mama Mia” islands, after the movie filmed there.
“It’s a historic milestone — nationally vital and environmentally imperative,” said environment and energy minister Stavros Papastavrou. “The real challenge now is implementation. We are committed to making it work and turning Greece into a model of marine conservation in the Mediterranean.”
The move positions Greece to exceed the EU’s global biodiversity target of protecting 30 per cent of marine areas by 2030.
Conservationists, although positively surprised about the decision, warn that the country’s weak history of enforcement risks undermining the policy. “Greece has a poor record when it comes to marine conservation,” said Dimitris Karavellas, chief executive of WWF Greece. “Beyond these two new parks, dozens of other protected areas need immediate attention. We cannot afford to see yet another disappointing example of ‘paper parks.’”
The policy shift has also fuelled tensions with Turkey, which disputes sovereignty over several islands and has accused Athens of using environmental protection as a political tool.
Rather than wait for policy from Athens or Brussels to be implemented, the small-scale fishers of Amorgos have gone further than the national marine park measures — proposing a regular periodic ban on all activity, including their own boats, as well as rod-and-line and spearfishing.
Psakis, a third-generation fisherman, helped shape a four-part plan: a two-month no-fishing season to allow for reproduction; the creation of three protected zones; more sustainable equipment; and a voluntary clean-up programme during the April-May off months when fishing is prohibited.
That plan, first drafted in 2014, will lead to the first Aegean fisheries reserve, pending government approval. It will go beyond the proposed marine zones, which cover larger trawlers, and encompasses a wider area.
“The hardest part was agreeing to close off areas,” says Psakis. “There was scepticism about whether it would work. But we all thought it through together.”
The initiative grew out of informal conversations among the 44 members of the Amorgos fishers’ association. “Marine protected areas are a one-way street. There’s no other option for fishing to have a future,” says its 65-year-old president Michalis Croesmann. “I might retire in five or ten years. But if you have a child — and want him to have a future — something has to change.”
His son, now 29, was raised on boats, spending entire summers at sea. One year, he asked: “Dad, remember what we caught last summer — and look now. What are you going to do about it?”
Securing approval from the Greek state proved harder than building consensus locally. The plan required a scientific validation, and in 2022, the Agricultural University of Athens conducted a year-long field study. It confirmed that the proposed zones included dense Posidonia seagrass meadows — vital habitats for reproduction.
“The data supported what the fishermen had proposed,” says marine biologist Stefanos Kalogirou, who led the research. “The real problem is that many public agencies don’t want to act. When they see something innovative, they hesitate — out of fear, or habit. The Amorgorama team had to overcome enormous resistance to get this moving.”
The decree formalising the plan is expected to be signed by the end of the month, 11 years after being conceived. If successful, the ban will become enforceable from April 2026, with GPS tracking for all vessels and a five-year monitoring period.
Visibility also played a role. “People need recognition as much as they need funding,” says Anni Mitropoulou, executive director of the Cyclades Preservation Fund, which helped to fund the scientific report and brand the project Amorgorama to bring it to national attention.
The venture was also supported by the Blue Marine Foundation conservation charity, whose head of Greek projects, Angela Lazou, says the initiative provides a prime example of grassroots action. “Amorgos can be a model — showing how marine protection can work when it involves local communities and those who depend on the sea.”
Some fishers still worry that they will find themselves alone in the effort. “If this doesn’t become law, nothing changes,” says Psakis. “Greeks need a stick. I may not go to fish, but a different boat from Koufonisi might come instead,” he added, referring to one of the nearby islands.
He is also clear-eyed about the economics. “You can no longer live off this job. You used to build a new house every two years. Now you can’t even feed your family with five-days’ work.” His son, he says, is studying to become a commercial captain. “I didn’t tell him to become a fisherman. I don’t want him to.”
Even so, he believes in the collective effort and the “joy when I see a clean beach”.
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