On 5 September 2021, the Dimitris Sarikas, President of the Fishermen of Alexandroupolis, complained - not for the first time - that Turkish fishing boats fishing undisturbed INTO the Greek territorial waters in areas of Alexandroupolis, Lemnos, Agios Stratis, Lesvos. When the Greek fishermen call the Coast Guard to protect them, this is non-existent, while the Coast Guard is presented to record violations by Greek fishermen when they fish 10 meters within the fishing zone prohibited by the Coast Guard...
This Turkish practice has been applied several times a year for decades, with the entire political system and the Greek governments remaining completely indifferent to the consequences of this absolutely anti-national policy, adhering with eternal faith to an absolutely stupid and detrimental to national interests fishing policy.
It is a global phenomenon of stupidity and indifference of the political system to defend national interests, the fact that Greece has defined a FISHERY ZONE only 6 miles from its coastline and has even officially submitted it to the UN, which in turn has entered it in the List of Fishing Zones of the Member States.
However, the 6nm constitute the territorial waters of Greece, in which Greece, based on international law (UN IMO ICAO etc.), exercises full and exclusive sovereignty. In other words, Greece can do whatever it wants in the 6nm territorial waters without asking anyone, fishing, setting up wind turbines, conducting exercises, etc. Thus, Greece's official and binding declaration to the UN that the Greek Fishing Zone is 6nm - that is, the territorial waters - is absolute stupidity at the expense of Greece, which the present government also embraces and covers up, often leaving Greek fishermen exposed and with reduced incomes.
On the contrary, Turkey has submitted to the UN in 1964 a 6nm Fishing Zone BEYOND THE 6nm OF TURKISH TERRITORIAL WATERS IN THE INTERNATIONAL AEGEAN SEA, i.e. 12nm from the Turkish coast (6nm territorial waters plus 6nm Fishing Zone) with the result that, due to the accumulated stupidity of Athens, Greek fishermen are forced to fish only in the territorial waters and the Turks in the international sea, in the areas shown on the map with a dotted red line.
On the map, the 6nm territorial waters of Greece are shown in blue, which are also the Greek Fishing Zone. While the outlined red colour shows the Turkish Fishing Zone of 6nm in the international sea beyond 6nm of Turkish territorial waters.
In particular in the area between Rhodes and Kastelorizo, which the Mitsotakis government has accepted as lying in the Mediterranean, the Turkish Fishing Zone lies 18nm off the Turkish coast (12nm territorial waters due to the Mediterranean Sea -after the Dendias positioning- plus 6nm Turkish Fishing Zone). So, based on UN data and Greek stupidity - which is not the only one against Greece -, Any Greek fishing boat that strays outside the Greek 6nm (blue) fishing zone into the international sea enters the Turkish Fishing Zone illegally, and is arrested, shot and expelled by the Turkish coastguard.
The Greek stupidity of all Greek governments is paid for by the fishermen of Alexandroupolis, Kavala, Thassos, Lemnos, Agios Stratis, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Rhodes, Kastelorizo.
Η Mitsotakis government remains mute on the issue of Turkish fishing boats in the Greek islands, more so since the Prime Minister proudly declared in Parliament that he is protecting ONLY the 6nm territorial waters, sending Greek fishermen to Caiaphas if they dare to go outside the 6nm and sending the Greek EEZ, the SAR area, into Erdogan's arms, so that Erdogan can easily devise the Blue Homeland at the expense of Greece.
The white colour on the map indicates the international Aegean Sea, an area where anyone has the right to fish, even in the Thermaikos and Evia area.
So, Turkish fishing vessels can also fish wherever they want outside the Greek Fishing Zone - 6nm territorial waters, in the international Aegean Sea as shown by the red arrows on the map. It goes without saying that Greek fishing vessels have every right to fish in the same areas marked in white. But the advantage to Turkish fishing boats has been granted by the government, which has not even considered the establishment in the UN of the Greek EEZ up to 200nm from the coast, except in cases with countries with which it has opposite or adjacent coasts, with which the EEZ will be delimited by bilateral agreement. (Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Libya).. In this way, in the Greek EEZ in the Aegean, only Greece and Greek fishermen would have exclusive sovereign rights to fish in the Greek EEZ, while the area would be off limits to Turkish fishing boats. As for the ’Maniatis Law« EEZ, which some may invoke, it is dangerous and inadequate. This is because the »Maniati Law« insists on the condition that Greece can claim a Greek EEZ (which is prohibited by International Law) and because it turns the Greek territorial waters of the islands that have opposite coasts with Turkey into an international sea...
For the area south of Rhodes - Kastelorizo, with red arrows on the map, only the Turks can fish there because according to Ankara it is Turkish/Libyan EEZ and anyone who fishes will be arrested, with Mr Mitsotakis in Parliament guarding only the 6nm of Kastelorizo. But it turned out that even the 6nm could not defend, because it could not prevent a Turkish military DROWN from throwing 100 kilos of red paint on the Greek flag., regardless of whether the mainstream media shout “Long live the armaments of the government - Dendias-Paniotopoulos on the Aegean islands”.
As for Mr Santorinios, who reacted because the government does not protect Greek fishermen, it is noted that indeed the government is not protecting Greek fishermen. SYRIZA there were no such incidents during P Kammenos' ministry at the Ministry of National Defence. But when Kammenos left the Ministry of National Defence, suddenly Turkish fishing boats started to swarm in the Aegean and the battle began not for sea bream, but... for atterina. Mr Santorininos does not bother to explain why for four years SYRIZA did not amend the Greek law of the 6nm Fishing Zone to protect Greek fishermen, and the same applies to the current government.
It is also noted that in the absence of a Greek reaction, some Turkish fishing boats go beyond the limits of audacity and enter the Greek territorial waters - Greek Fishing Zone, not because «the wind took them», like Mount Reyes, but to fish, putting the Greek flag on the mast, such as the Ali Birat, unless the competent authorities declare that it has a Greek registration of the... Port Authority of Karditsa..
By Kyra Adam
