Mr. Voyatzoglou Georgios is 47 years old and is the owner of 3 fishing boats, the fishing boats “Maria”, “Taxiarchis” and “Michalis” and all 3 contribute to the date collection from almost the entire Aegean, of litter within the program “Fishing for litter”.

His family is an old fishing family originally from the island of Chios, average 5 generations in the profession of average fishing. His story began when his great-grandfather built the first trawler and started fishing. He continued to work in the family business, following in his father’s footsteps and then taking over its “reins” himself, he decided to expand into the fish trade and thus moved to Piraeus, where he lives today.

He has also served in the past as the president of medium fishing professionals “The Aegean”.

 

R: How many years have you worked as a fisher? How did your occupation with fishing begin?

VG: It all started with my great-grandfather and today we count 5 generations engaged in the same profession. I am almost 32 years in this job, and I hope there will be a continuation from my son.

R: Could you describe a day in the sea?

VG: The feelings on board are mixed, good, and bad. The days are monotonous but also difficult especially when the weather is not good, or we cannot have a great amount of fish at the end of the day. Although today most of the boats are fully equipped with many facilities, compared to the past when the living conditions were very difficult especially during winter.

R: What differences do you notice regarding the amount of waste compared to the past?

VG: I have noticed a reduction of waste compared to the past when the project first started, but this only happens in areas where we often fish. In areas that are not fished the problem still exists and we see it when, depending on the season, we change sites or when we pass through areas where commercial ships have passed.

 R: What kind of waste you’ve collected has made the biggest impression on you?

VG: Mainly what always impressed me was when barrels of fuel oil or paint containers, pierced our fishing nets. That was a double harm, they polluted the environment and piercing our nets.

R: What does the sea and its protection mean to you?

VG: The sea is my whole life, it has nurtured my whole family until today. Its protection is the protection of our lives. These two are closely connected for all those who live by the sea.

R: What is the message you want to pass along the world?

VG: I would like to urge the world and all housewives – mothers to teach their children to eat fish, and to love the sea, to protect it.

 

iSea’s «Fishing For Litter» program is implemented for 6 years in a row, in lots of different areas in Greece, in collaboration with the A C Laskaridis Charitable Foundation. The ambassadors of this program, the professional fishermen who actively support the effort of collecting and recording aquatic litter from the sea all over the country, talk about the nature of their profession and share their experience and thoughts about the program.

We would like to thank all the fishermen who cooperated with us, for a more effective implementation of the “Fishing For Litter” program and give a personal touch to this effort.