Greece's Ministry of Rural Development and Food is promoting fishing tourism as a new income source for professional fishermen, particularly in island and coastal areas, linking daily fishing work with tourism, gastronomy and authentic visitor experiences.
Under the approach, fishermen do not abandon their profession. Instead, they use their boats, experience and knowledge to let visitors see how fishing is done up close, join a real sea excursion and connect with each region's fishing traditions.
Spyros Protopsaltis, secretary general for Rural Development and Food, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency that fishing tourism offered professional fishermen a significant opportunity to boost their income, stay at sea and pass on the experience and tradition to future generations. He said visitors could get to know authentic Greek fishing and the richness of Greece's seas, with the aim of creating more opportunities for young people to stay in their home areas and continue working as fishermen.
Funding to adapt fishing boats
The ministry is backing the activity through the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Sea Program 2021-2027 (PALYTH). Under Specific Objective 3.1, the program funds actions tied to the sustainable blue economy in coastal, island and inland areas, including fishing tourism, experiential tourism and diving tourism.
Both individual professional fishermen and cooperatives can qualify, through local CLLD programs run by Local Action Groups. Funding can cover adapting a professional fishing boat to host visitors, including modernization and refitting work, purchase and installation of equipment, infrastructure upgrades, and safety and hygiene improvements. The program also funds promotional and outreach actions to connect fishing tourism more closely with each region's tourism product.
16 million euros for fishing boats
A separate 16 million euro call is currently open under PALYTH for investment in professional fishing boats, aimed at modernizing the fleet with high aid rates while creating additional opportunities for people still working professionally at sea. The idea is for fleet modernization to run alongside diversification of fishermen's activities, letting them make tourism use of their experience and boats.
From LEADER to new programs
Fishing tourism is not an entirely new idea in Greece. During the previous funding period, through CLLD/LEADER 2014-2020, 30 Local Action Groups financed related projects across the country. Eighteen Local Action Groups also collaborated on a cross-regional project with a total budget of 514,051.72 euros, aimed at training, organizing and promoting the new activity.
The project included workshops, and 57 professional fishermen took part in an educational best-practice visit. Informational videos, TV spots and documentaries, themed sea routes and promotional material were produced, along with pilot fishing tourism actions. The cross-regional "Fishing Tourism" project was later recognized by the European network FARNET as a good practice, for linking higher income for professional fishermen with preserving the profession and protecting the marine environment.
A new tourism product
The next challenge is for the new funding period to turn today's pilot and local initiatives into a more organized economic activity. Once the relevant PALYTH 2021-2027 calls are issued, interested fishermen will be able to see in detail which investments are funded, which costs are eligible and what the conditions for participation are.
For coastal and island communities, the goal is not only extra income but also preserving a traditional profession, creating incentives for the younger generation, and linking tourism to the daily lives of people who live and work at sea.
