Hundreds of pilgrims and priests intending to visit the monastic community of Mount Athos for the Greek Orthodox Easter weekend were yesterday stranded at the ports of Ouranoupolis and Ierissos as protesting fishermen from Halkidiki used their boats to block the main access points to the monasteries from the sea.

The fishermen set up the blockade after monks rejected their demands to lift a 20-year ban on fishing within 500 meters of the coast around Mount Athos.

Protesters called on Merchant Marine Minister Manolis Kefaloyiannis to intervene, threatening to extend their blockade indefinitely if the ban is not lifted.

But a representative of the monastic community said the fishing restrictions were necessary to safeguard its peaceful environment and condemned the fishermen’s action during Easter Week as “disrespectful.”