My husband and I are celebrating our 10 wedding anniversary in Greece and Croatia this fall ( end of September, beginning Oct ) I am an avid fishing person . Anyone know anything about options for pole fishing off boats or shore in either Greece or Croatia . Are a permit required . Also don’t love big crowds or big cities and want to experience local people and food . .
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Philadelphia, PA, USA
3397 posts
I'm sure that fishing expeditions can be found, but the question is, how satisfactory will they be?? It's important to learn more about the Mediterranean/Aegean marine situation to understand why. The fish stocks in these waters have been drastically depleted since about 1950.. for the larger varieties you're used to, from the Atlantic, Pacific & Carribean. It will be apparent from the menus -- fresh fish varieties are limited to porgy, bream and (very expensive) mullet - and the latter 2 may be farmed The more common seafood items are sardines, smelt, herring octopus, squid, shrimp. Any menu listing of tuna, swordfish, cod, haddock or other large fish are frozen. The types your husband enjoys fishing for are scarce
How did this come about?? A sad cause -- World War II and the devastating aftermath. Because the Nazis couldn't pillage Greece for heavy-industry (it had none) instead they took all its food -- farms, fisheries, even backyard chickens. In Athens people died in the streets of starvation. At war's end, all the countries bordering the sea, were full of starving people. What was left? Piles of ammunition. Hungry people, from Spain, France, Italy Greece, North Africa, discovered that grenades & other munitions, thrown in the water, could harvest vast quantities of protein ... life-saving for humans, but devastating to sea life. By 1950, food assistance & new laws ended the practice, but the fish stocks of the larger species never fully recovered. On islands you'll see small fishing boats coming in to port .. but the catch will be modest & the fishes small.
There are wonderful seafood dishes to enjoy in small tavernas... and in the fall there are harvest festivals, wine festivals, delicious fresh meat & produce to enjoy. The thrill of deep-sea fishing for large species is gone.. but much remains.