Coral-rich Greek archipelago hopes to gain from trawler ban

Workers grip a sportfishing nett adjacent a trawler docked astatine the larboard of Nea Michaniona, successful bluish Greece. Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP
Source: AFP

As a reddish dawn broke implicit the tiny, coral-rich Greek archipelago of Fournoi, Manolis Mytikas's woody sportfishing vessel dilatory glided home, his nets astir empty.

The humble drawback nevertheless rapidly drew respective islanders successful hunt of caller fish, a rarity successful past years successful this land concatenation successful the northeastern Aegean Sea, which has less than 1,500 inhabitants successful total.

"Today, determination were 2 of america heading retired to sea, and we caught immoderate food by chance," said the 76-year-old fisherman, his tegument profoundly tanned by the Mediterranean sun.

"Yesterday, we earned 30 euros ($34). The time earlier yesterday, not a penny. Sometimes, we don't adjacent person capable to eat," helium told AFP.

But things could beryllium looking up for this tiny country of the Aegean Sea.

Last month, the Greek authorities banned bottommost trawling successful the waters astir the archipelago, to support a caller find of exceptionally affluent coral reefs.

Greece is besides outlawing bottommost trawling successful nationalist marine parks by 2026 and successful each protected marine areas by 2030, the archetypal state successful Europe to instrumentality specified a step.

Fishing is mostly allowed successful protected marine areas worldwide, often adjacent by trawlers, which scrape the seabed with a immense funnel-shaped net.

"Finally!" Mytikas exclaimed erstwhile told of the ban. "They've ravaged the sea. They plough the seabed and destruct everything."

At the land port, his workfellow Vaggelis Markakis, 58, compared trawlers to "bulldozers".

"If we halt them from coming here, our oversea volition travel backmost to life," Mytikas said. "The oversea volition beryllium filled with food again."

Research conducted successful this archipelago by the conservation groups Under the Pole, which organises diving expeditions successful utmost environments, and Archipelagos, successful collaboration with European technological institutions, has highlighted the beingness of large underwater carnal populations.

At depths betwixt 60 and 150 meters (around 200 to 500 feet), scientists person documented implicit 300 taxon surviving connected the seabed nether minimal light.

'Underwater forests'

"What we discovered is beyond imaginativeness -- immense coral reefs dating backmost thousands of years, inactive intact," gushed Anastasia Miliou, technological manager of Archipelagos.

Last month, the Greek authorities banned bottommost trawling successful the waters astir the Fournoi archipelago, to support a caller find of exceptionally affluent coral reefs. Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP
Source: AFP

The oversea floor-dwelling taxon discovered see vibrantly reddish gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata) and achromatic corals (Antipathella subpinnata).

"When these organisms hap astatine precocious densities, they signifier existent underwater forests," said Lorenzo Bramanti, a researcher astatine the CNRS Laboratory of Ecogeochemistry of Benthic Environments.

But these habitats are highly sensitive.

"A azygous trawl walk is capable to raze them," warned Stelios Katsanevakis, prof of oceanography astatine the University of the Aegean.

And the harm can beryllium perchance irreversible, added Bramanti.

"Once destroyed, these forests whitethorn instrumentality decades oregon adjacent centuries to recover," said the marine scientist, who has worked connected corals successful the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Pacific.

"No 1 doubts that cutting down a wood is an ecological disaster. The aforesaid is existent for carnal forests," Bramanti said.

Setting an illustration

By banning bottommost trawling astir Fournoi, Bramanti hopes Greece volition acceptable an illustration for different Mediterranean countries, helium said.

"We indispensable enactment quickly, due to the fact that these are among the past ecosystems inactive untouched by clime change," fixed that they are located astatine depths greater than 70 meters, helium said.

"And we hazard losing them earlier we adjacent genuinely recognize them."

But the measurement has near concern sportfishing professionals fuming.

The contention implicit bottommost trawling pits conservationists and small-scale fishermen against an manufacture that says it is being unfairly attacked, hurting consumers. Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP
Source: AFP

There are astir 220 bottommost trawlers successful Greece, and assemblage representatives kick restrictions connected their enactment are excessive.

"We were not invited to immoderate benignant of treatment connected this matter," said Kostas Daoultzis, caput of the trawler cooperative astatine the bluish larboard of Nea Michaniona, 1 of the country's main food markets.

Daoultzis said the decisions were "based connected reports from unpaid organisations... lacking technological backing".

He said trawlers already debar coral areas, which tin harm their equipment.

Fournoi fishermen antagonistic that trawlers bash food successful their waters, but crook disconnected their tracking systems to debar detection.

Under unit globally, trawling is apt to beryllium connected the docket astatine a United Nations Ocean Conference adjacent week successful the French metropolis of Nice.

Daoultzis said helium fears for the endurance of his profession.

"Our sportfishing spaces support shrinking. Our enactment is nether threat, and consumers volition endure -- food prices volition skyrocket," helium warned.

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck retired quality that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” artifact connected the location leafage and enjoy!

Source: AFP