On the island of Amorgos, fishermen are on the front line to save the fish
On July 21, Greece announced the creation of two marine protected areas. The initiative stems from the desire of local stakeholders to better protect their environment and activities. The Greek weekly newspaper “Lifo” met these pioneers on the small Cyclades island of Amorgos.
The Amorgos Botanical Park smells of basil and lemon. I'm on the Cycladic island to discover Amorgorama, a unique initiative launched by local fishermen that took on an international dimension at the Oceans Conference held in Nice in June .
“We support the initiatives of local fishing communities, such as that of Amorgorama, on the island of Amorgos, which will establish no-fishing zones around the island, true refuges for marine life,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
While waiting for the presidential decree that will define the fishing restriction zones around the island [expected in September], the fishing community and their families finally feel rewarded for their efforts.
“Of course I'm proud. I'm proud that Amorgos has reached Nice. We've been mobilizing for ten years. We've had ministries throw us out. They tore up the papers we brought them, told us it was impossible, but we didn't give up. Now that the problem is out in front of everyone, we're happy,” confides Michalis Vekris, a fisherman on the island of Amorgos. “We want it to succeed.”
He describes the effort made over the past decade to overcome the many obstacles. Noting the dimi
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