The island is a big problem for fishermen
Seaweed in Crete continues to cause damage and make the work of fishermen even more difficult. The sharp teeth of poisonous fish cause problems…
Irapetra fishermen in Crete are condemned to sew nets pierced with rabbit's heads every day. The few remaining fishing boats in Erepetra have started fishing since last month, but the weather has improved, but their catches are “anemic” and damage to the nets by the sharp teeth of the fish occurs daily.
From the moment of tying up at the port, handing over the small kilos of fish to the local traders, and from the moment of catching the 'fish', preparing the next round of fishing gear and mending the torn nets, the struggle begins for the Erapetra fishermen. The fishing trip.
“When we return from fishing, not all the workers finish their work and go home to rest, but we stay inside our fishing boat and mend our torn nets non-stop. We sew every day and all day so that we can repair damage caused by rabbits to our fishing gear. “We sew more hours than the tailors,” he says neakriti.grA local fisherman and continues:
“Our daily battle with the hares has left us tired and disillusioned as we see coastal fisheries being destroyed and the government blowing the whistle with indifference. The rulers have been ordered to make some reparations for the damage caused to us by lionfish and lionfish, which have dangerously reduced the numbers of mullet and marketable quality fish that were once a family fishery.
“There is no compensation from the government, nor are we given incentives to subsidize these invasive species,” says young fisherman Alexis Saralambakis as he bends and sews his fishing net over his torn nets. The endless hours until the sun sets to start the next trip.
“We don't go fishing in Greasy anymore because the mullet and lionfish have wiped out the urchins around the island and we don't catch more than a kilo of mullet and some windfish. With these fish we can't even pay for the boat oil, let's go back to Krishi.
“That's why we choose to fish near the east and west coasts of Erapetra, so that we can get the lowest price for the fuel we consume”, said Alexis Saralambakis as he sewed his nets.
Giri-Giri, which once produced more than 200 foam fish, faces the same problem. Fish stocks in the Erepetra Sea are drastically reduced and coastal fisheries are dying out. “We are all thinking of changing professions. We have only fifteen fishing boats in Irapetra harbor and some don't go fishing more than twice a week. I have been working as a professional fisherman in Irapetra for 20 years. What I have seen in recent years is unprecedented,” says another local fisherman.
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