Fish and Seafood

When dreaming about Greece, eating fresh fish by the sea often comes near the top of the list of things to do.

It’s always been highly prized in Greece, since ancient times: James Davidson wrote a fascinating book about the ancient Athenian lust for fish (and just plain lust) in his Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens.

Even back then it was expensive!

Aquaculture in Greece

Today Greece is the world’s third biggest producer of farmed fish, and first in the EU. The main Greek company was purchased by Valencia-based Avramar, Europe’s leading producer of farmed fish, which now controls 70 per cent of the Greek market.

In 2016, it was purchased by a pair of private equity companies keen on making fast profits, which has led to some conflicts with tourist interests, especially as most Greek fish farms are near the shores.

Although the EU is heavily promoting aquaculture as sustainable, there are doubts: it takes 2000 metric tonnes of food to produces 1000 metric tonnes of fish—and 10 to 20% of that is lost in the environment—along with the nitrogen-rich concentration of fish waste that leads to dead zones around the farms.