Fishing
Fishing is the activity of catching fish in the sea or fresh water by various means and is divided into commercial (fishery) and recreational fishing. Fishing in the sea is developed at coastal areas around the Messinian Bay and the Ionian Sea. Regions where fishermen live are Methoni, Koroni, Foinikounta, Kalo Nero (‘Good Water’), the islands Proti and Saint Marina, Marathopolis, Agrilis ,Kyparissia, Petalidi, Asini, Pylos and the villages of Messinian Mani, Kardamili and Saint Nikolaos .
The fishing areas themselves are not known and recorded, because fishermen refuse to reveal them. It is quite likely, though, that they are close to the coastal areas. The types of small fishing vessels or boats used for sea fishing are: the small open boat, which is the most common type in Greece, the seiner/ mechanized trawler, which has a narrow, long hull, a pointed rig at its bow and is 8-10mlong, and the dory, a small sailing ship with a pointed bow and stern. The first dories used to have sails until thesewere replaced by engines.
The fishing techniques vary depending on the area (sea, river) and the varieties of fish. Common techniques of land-based fishing are ‘kalamidi’ (rod fishing), a method of fishing by using an "angle" (hook) attached to a fishing line attached to a fishing rod; fishing with small hooks (handline fishing), which is ideal for catching easily fish schools such as small breams, blue damsel fish, salemas and small grey mullets as well as the method of ‘petachtari’ which entails throwing a large fishing line, a hook and a sinker forcefully into the sea. Boat fishing techniques include the following: ‘petachtari’, ‘ katheti’ which requires a fishing tackle consisting of a long fishing line/ string with one sinker and one or more hooks, ‘tsapari’ which includes a fishing line with very small hooks and a sinker, ‘paragadi’ (longline), which can be made froman either thin or thick fishing line and is used only during the evening, and ‘ladia’(trapping) which is used for catching octopus and sea urchins. Fishermen put two handfuls of wet pebbles into a can or small pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, mix the materials and scatter them into the sea. Thus, they can see more clearly in the water.

Other boat fishing methods are the following: The foam or bottom troller, a long thread which ends at a hook and is pulled from the boat, ‘ konifelo’, a fish trap made from an oval loosely woven basket, ‘pirofani’, the method of fishing during the night with the use of a special lamp, nets and harpoons, and ‘gri-gri’, a technique of surface fishing with a large rectangular net which has a closed bottom with sinkers and bobbers on its top.This last method is used by commercial fishermen that use dories or sailing boats. Fishing by the river takes place at Messinian rivers such as Neda, Pamisos, and Aris with the following traditional fishing methods:stopping the water flow which leads to the shift of the river bed and reveals the hidden fish, the technique of ‘mataratsi’ fishing and fishing with a hook, usually after autumn rains.
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