Despina Gavougiorgou is 39 years old. She lives in Alexandroupolis and together with her father has been working on their coastal boat since 2016.

“My father has always been a fisherman, his profession was followed by my brother in our trawler. After completing my studies in Business Administration and at the urging of my father, I decided to work in coastal fishing, and my mother didn’t agree.” “We helped you get higher education!” she used to say.

“It’s definitely not an easy profession, especially when you have a family. The schedules are difficult, we start early in the morning to collect the nets, to fish out, to weigh our fish. You have to learn to mend the nets, to rig and always keep in mind that the weather conditions are difficult .”

“You are exposed to cold and the rainy weather. No job is shameful and you can overcome difficulties when you love what you do.”

“I felt fear only once! A south wind started blowing heavily and was about to capsize the boat, I sat down in a corner of the boat and started to pray. My father told me not to be afraid, as much as you love the sea, it loves you too.”

“I never faced disrespect from other fishermen, they helped me and tried to teach me what to do and what to watch out for. Only once, a colleague looked down at me saying that he can’t see a woman with a tarpaulin.”

“I dream of a sustainable fishery in our country, for this reason, we as a whole family are open to new proposals and the protection of the sea is a duty of all of us and thus we decided to become members of the Fishing for Litter project of the A. C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation in collaboration with iSea.”

“The food pyramid depends on fishing and I can’t believe the fact that people still pollute it.”

“A day that I don’t go near the sea, isn’t a good day. It soothes my soul and calms me down. I believe that feminine energy and fishing are a harmonious combination. After all, both women and the sea are a source of life.”