Aquaculture in a protected gulf: the case of Amvrakikos (Greece) Perdikaris C.1; Gouva E.2; Chantzaropoulos A.3; Chatzopoulos A.2; Skoufos I.2; Paschos I.2 1Department of Fisheries, Region of Epirus, Igoumenitsa, 46100, Greece 2Department of Agricultural Technology, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, Arta, 47100, Greece 3Municipal Hatchery of Lake Pamvotis, Ioannina, 45500, Greece Abstract Amvrakikos is a protected gulf by the Ramsar convention in the Region of Epirus (NW Greece). It covers an area of 530 km² with a maximum length of 35 km and maximum width 20 km and it is one of the most important fish producing areas in Greece. Fishing, aquaculture (traditional in lagoons, intensive finfish culture in floating cages and mussel farming in long-lines), as well as processing of fishery/aquaculture products are important activities related to the gulf. However, serious anthropogenic impacts have negatively affected the ecological status of the aquatic environment leading to eutrophication and deterioration of the sediment quality. This situation is reflected on the overall fishery productivity which is gradually reducing during the last 20 years. Taking into consideration the important socio-economic value of the gulf to the local communities, urgent actions are needed including sustainable fisheries management and environmental-friendly aquaculture. Figure 2. Map of Greece with and the Amvrakikos Gulf on the enlarged section. C. Fisheries and processing sector A. Marine aquaculture sector The overall number of fishing vessels is approximately 460 (Anonymous, 2012), most of which are small motorized boats. There are three major commercial harbours and seven small fishing vessel refuges. Shrimp (Figure 3a) landings vary annually from 50 to 140 tonnes, sardine from 100 to 300 tonnes, shellfish from 10 to 50 tonnes, cuttlefish from 50 to 120 tonnes, while striped mullet from 20 to 130 tonnes. All the above products are highly appreciated as top-quality delicacies of high nutritional value; they are closely-related to the local cousin and highly valued by the tourists. Probably the most valuable product in the area is the salted mullet-roe (Figure 3b) with annual production of 350-600 kg. Concerning the processing facilities in the area, there are 11 packaging plants, four processing plants for smoked products, one processing plant for frozen products and one shellfish depuration centre (Anonymous, 2012). The established finfish cage farms (Figure 1) in the Amvrakikos Gulf are 23, producing mainly sea bass and sea bream and minor volumes of pagrus, snapsnout sea bream and meagre (Anonymous, 2012). The majority of the final product (over 90%) which is estimated to approximately 7,000 tonnes annually is exported to the western European markets, of which 80-90% to the Italian market. The estimated overall income from fish farming exceeds €30,000,000 in annual base, which is an important contribution to the regional fisheries balance. The gulf’s 13 shellfish culture farms mostly produce Mediterranean mussels with annual production capacity of over 3,000 tonnes, which are also exported predominantly to the Italian market. However, shellfish production capacity is underutilized as it is seriously affected by the loggerhead sea turtle preying on mussels and by eutrophication. Finally, two marine hatcheries are established in the area producing annually 50,000,000-60,000,000 fish fry. a b Figure 3. Delicatessen products from the Amvrakikos gulf: (a) local shrimp (Melicertus kerathurus) and (b) salted grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) roe. Constrains and proposals The main constrains for further growth of the aquaculture and fisheries in the Amvrakikos Gulf are: a) pollution (agro-chemicals, sewage and livestock units); b) overfishing, illegal fishing and ill-practised fishing (Conides, 2001); c) formation of an anoxic zone below the depth of 35 m (N.C.M.R., 1989); d) freshwater flow reduction, irregular inflows from upstream hydro-electric plants and irrigation; e) increase of mean water temperature; and f) problems in the implementation of spatial planning in various economic sectors . Therefore, sensible directions for future sustainable development could be: a) environmental monitoring (e.g. pollution, endangered species); b) implementation of effective fisheries assessment and socio-economic studies; c) establishment of fisheries and aquaculture production database; d) strict implementation of fisheries laws through improved surveillance; e) promotion of organic aquaculture and fishing-based tourism initiatives and f) promotion of applied research and sensitization of the local communities on the natural, economic and cultural value of the area. Figure 1. Typical marine finfish farm with rectangular and circular floating cages in the Amvrakikos Gulf. B. Lagoons The rivers Louros and Arachthos which are flowing into the northern part of the gulf have created a series of lagoons (Rodia, Tsoukalio, Logarou, Tsopeli, Mazoma) (Figure 2). These lagoons are organized in the Tsoukalio complex over an area of 6000 ha and the Logarou complex over an area of 4000 ha (Mpasiouli, 2010). These lagoons are managed by cooperatives of professional fishermen and contribute most of the fisheries production of the gulf (i.e. mainly seabream, various species of mullets and salted roe, seabass and eels). Contact References Dr Costas Perdikaris Email: cperdik74@yahoo.gr Anonymous, 2012. ‘Basket’ of agricultural products. Region of Epirus, Greece. Mpasiouli, V., 2010. The coastal zone of Amvrakikos Gulf: Assessment of the ecological status and methods of integrated management. M.Sc. thesis, Departments of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly and Aquaculture & Fisheries, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, Greece. Conides, A., 2001. Study of the current state of fishery of the native prawn Penaeus (Melicertus) kerathurus population in north Mediterranean. Final Report, Project 037/98, DG XIV-Fisheries. pp. 349. ET.AN.AM., 1999. Monitoring of surface waters of Amvrakikos Gulf, 1997-1999. Technical Report, ET.AN.AM. SA, Preveza, June 1999. N.C.M.R. 1989 Oceanographic study of Amvrakikos Gulf. Ministry of Environment, Greece.