Fishing shelters in Northern Greece face severe maintenance issues

More than 2,000 professional fishing vessels in Northern Greece are facing significant challenges due to the poor condition of fishing shelters in Thessaloniki, Chalkidiki, Pieria, Serres, and Imathia. Many of these facilities are either non-functional or suffering from severe maintenance issues caused by limited financial resources.

Apostolos Giantsis, former General Director of the Central Macedonia Region, highlighted that siltation—the accumulation of sand at harbor entrances—is a critical problem. In areas such as Amfipoli and Asprovalta, infrastructure has become nearly unusable due to sand buildup. Maintaining these entrances is costly; for instance, dredging the entrance to Nea Michaniona requires approximately 220,000 euros, while previous works at the Loudia estuary cost the Region 800,000 euros.

Inadequate maintenance of docks, mooring lines, water and electricity supplies, lighting, and cleanliness further complicates the situation. When vessels cannot find available shelter, they are forced to moor in open waters or natural formations, which provides insufficient protection against bad weather and risks damaging hulls or compromising vessel safety.