Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, coordinator of OCEAN2012 for Greece and Cyprus, participated in the THALATTA 2012, “Islands and sea: Building a sustainable maritime economy” conference, which was held on 22 – 23 September 2012 in Santorini Island.Anastasia Miliou, Manager & Head Scientist at Archipelagos Institute, gave a presentation about destructive fisheries in Greece and the EU. This was based on the results of over a decade’s research with the daily presence of Archipelagos’ research teams in various parts of the Greek seas, throughout the year, even in adverse weather conditions. She also spoke about the efforts of the Ocean2012 coalition towards a truly sustainable reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Her presentation also focused on the estimated impact on fisheries and the health of the Aegean Sea by a maritime accident and included a risk assessment for a maritime accident. This is work carried out by Archipelagos Institute during the past few years, aiming to highlight the immense existing risk of irreversible damage this could cause in our seas.
The conference was also attended by EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, and members of her Cabinet, Mr. Athanasios Tsaftaris, Minister of Rural Development and Food, who is responsible for fisheries, as well as by many other representatives of national and local authorities of Aegean islands and NGOs dealing with fisheries issues.
