Little fish at risk in local seas
Greenpeace slammed Greece yesterday over its failure to monitor the size of fish caught in its waters and warned the government the European Union could slap the country with a massive fine if it continues to ignore the problem. The environmental group said reviews of local seafood markets found that tons of undersized fish were being traded, meaning they were pulled out of the water before they had a chance to reproduce. «These fish are illegal but are traded without a problem in the markets and the restaurants. The lack of serious checks on the whole cycle of the market is obvious,» said Greenpeace’s Sofia Tsenikli, who oversees the campaign concerning the sea environment. «One can find very small-sized red mullet, whitebait and even swordfish being sold,» she said. Sea pollution and overfishing are considered to be the biggest threats to waters, prompting governments to enforce limits on the size of the fish that can be caught. In July 2005, the EU fined France 70 million euros for failing to protect its fish population, Greenpeace said.
