Greek fisheries and the economic crisis: structural analogies

Abstract

The Greek economic crisis has attracted much attention during recent years, as its depth and duration have been far greater than in crises experienced elsewhere. Structural similarities and peculiarities between the Greek economy and fishery sector are identified in terms of the large number of small enterprises and artisanal vessels, as well as inefficiencies in data collection and tax compliance (unreported income or landings). These highly differentiate Greece from most of the rest of the developed world. In the absence of domestic reforms geared to the specific case of Greece, policy solutions applied elsewhere are being imported into the country, with little success so far. We argue that structural characteristics should be taken into account in order to facilitate economic recovery and improve the efficiency of fisheries.