Tag Archives: small wooden fishing boats
Fisherman on a Mission to Save the Kaiki, Greece’s Iconic Fishing Boat
In 2007, the European Union announced a new policy to bring a balance between fishing resources and all the related activities surrounding it, including the destruction of Greece’s iconic ‘kaiki’ fishing boats, in an effort to address the depletion of fish in the Mediterranean. In reality, this means the physical destruction, or “cutting,” of fishing boats that are more than ten years old, with the offering of compensation for the loss of fishermen’s ancient livelihood and their wooden boats,,, About 13,000 kaikia have been deliberately destroyed since 1994 after the EU directive called for the demolition of the small wooden fishing boats which Greek fishermen have used for millennia. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:24
“Every crack was a stab in my heart,” – The Death of the Kaiki, Greece’s Traditional Fishing Boat
He sits sad-eyed on a bench in front of the Neos Pyrgos pier in North Evia, watching some of the few remaining kaikia go to and fro. Just a few years ago, his own kaiki was tied there next to them. Tzevelekos’ beloved boat was one of about 13,000 kaikia which have been deliberately destroyed since 1994, after a European Union directive called for the demolition of the small wooden fishing boats,, The directive aims at putting a stop to 
overfishing,,, “Every crack was a stab in my heart,” said Dimitris Livanos of Agiopyrgos, also in North Evia, describing the boat demolition that he was forced to witness. The Traditional Boat Association of Greece is a private organization which is making concerted efforts to save traditional boats from extinction. “There are about 15,000 fishing boats left, based on the number of current licenses. We don’t know how many of these are traditional,” says Nikos Kavallieros, president of the Association. >click to read< 11:53
