In order to mitigate negative effects of overfishing, Greece has resorted to extreme measures: paying fishermen to scrap their boats.
Hundreds of the country’s fishermen have already given up their vessels and licenses in exchange for government payments, some of which can go as high as €260,000 (more than $300,000) depending on boat size.
The Greek government and European Union together devised the payoff method, aiming to encourage more people to leave fishing behind and protect vulnerable fish stocks in the Mediterranean.
Apart from those being paid, many of Greece’s fishermen have already been forced to give up their livelihood in recent years due to a depleting fish supply, further contributing to the country’s high (albeit gradually decreasing) unemployment rate — 20.8% as of February 2018 according to ELSTAT.
The EU’s Joint Research Center reported in April 2017 that 93% of assessed Mediterranean fish stocks were over-exploited. The report also found that the sea has lost 41% of its marine mammals and 34% of its total fish population in the past 50 years.
Watch the video from Reuters below
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