Amateur fishermen claim informal ban is unfair

Amateur fishermen are protesting against the ban on recreational fishing during the lockdown period, claiming there is no specific prohibition in the relevant regulations.

“To be precise, recreational fishing has not been formally banned, although this was said by the deputy civil protection minister on television. There is no specific ban in the relevant Official Gazette, just that amateur fishing is not considered essential travel,” Dionysis Bastas, the president of the Panhellenic Association of Amateur Fishermen, told Kathimerini.

“So saying that you go fishing is considered a pointless move and you will be fined,” he added, bemoaning that “if a policeman sees you fishing on the beach, he can fine you.”

Bastas notes that fishing is an individual activity as most people fish alone, and always at a distance from others. He says his grief is shared by fishermen around the country and that he has received scores of messages of dismay.