AMORGORAMA, become a part of the swarm

The AMORGORAMA honorary event was successfully completed on October 5 on the island of Amorgos, attended by the Greek Prime Minister, the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, the Ministers of Environment and Energy and Rural Development and Food, and senior government officials.

The aim of the event was to symbolically celebrate the institutionalization of the AMORGORAMA initiative’s proposals and to highlight one of the grassroots initiatives for the sea and fisheries as an example to be emulated by other fishing communities.

AMORGORAMA began in 2014 as an initiative of the Amorgos Professional Fishing Association “Chozoviotissa” in response to overfishing, marine pollution, and the crisis in the fishing industry. The vision for a healthy and rich sea was based on four pillars: a complete cessation of fishing in April and May, with fishermen spending the same period cleaning beaches, a shift to more selective fishing gear, and the establishment of three Fishing Restriction Areas off the coast of Amorgos, with a permanent ban on commercial and recreational fishing

The AMORGORAMA initiative was supported from its inception by the Cyclades Preservation Fund (CPF) and subsequently by the Blue Marine Foundation (BMF), while there is collaboration with the Agricultural University of Athens for the scientific documentation of the Fishing Restriction Areas (FRA) established by presidential decree (PD 73/2025) on August 18, 2025.

AMORGORAMA is an example of “bottom-up” participation in marine protection, collective effort, and co-management of marine resources, and has succeeded in bringing together local communities, science, environmental organizations, the state, and fishermen. Initiatives such as AMORGORAMA put Greece firmly on the map of marine protection at a European level, while highlighting the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation. The meaningful involvement of the local community in the design and management of protection zones sets an example and may mark the future of the relationship between fishing and marine protection.