How has overfishing affected Greece’s fishing industry?

Greece’s extensive coastline and numerous islands have historically supported intensive fishing activity. However, the fishing industry has been negatively impacted by overfishing and a failure to properly conserve fish stocks, which are challenges faced throughout the Mediterranean region.1

These practices have reduced the contribution of fishing to the Greek economy. The tendency toward overexploitation is driven by a large number of small-scale local fisheries and the use of equipment such as trawl nets with small mesh sizes, which capture undersized fish. Furthermore, coastal pollution and overfishing have largely depleted natural fisheries that once provided valuable harvests of shellfish, such as crabs, shrimps, and prawns. As a result of these pressures on wild stocks, aquaculture has become increasingly important in the region.12