A history of Greek inland fishery development during 1928–2019

Abstract

A few studies have used historical inland fisheries data for defining reference points necessary for fisheries management. We developed a historical baseline of catches for inland fisheries of Greece during 1928–2019, with the interwar period (1928–1939), a period of intense political and socio‐economic turmoil, serving as a pre‐development reference period. The main harvested species were cyprinids, represented predominantly by Cyprinus carpio and Rutilus rutilus. Species that are currently threatened (i.e., Rutilus ylikiensis/Rutilus panosi and Alosa macedonica) or even possibly extinct (Pelasgus epiroticus) were vital food sources for local populations. Inland catches during the interwar period (1928–1939) were more than double than during 2000–2019, even though the former period can be described as early‐fishery. Such historical data are of high importance because many inland ecosystems were lost during the last century, and thus can be viewed as reference points for future inland fisheries and ecosystem management.