Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the island Amorgos on Sunday, Oct. 5, where he presented Amorgorama, a new initiative designed to protect the island’s marine ecosystem by introducing regulatory measures on fishing activity.
Speaking at a gathering with local fishermen, Mitsotakis praised the program, calling it both a safeguard for the sea and a way to support the fishing profession. “For me, beyond Amorgorama itself, marine parks are a major personal priority,” he said, stressing that the initiative would allow fishermen to see their daily work “under different terms.”
The prime minister emphasized that the program’s strength lies in the fact that it was born out of the local fishing community itself. Fishermen on Amorgos were the first to propose measured restrictions on their own activity as a way to preserve fish stocks. “That’s why it will succeed,” Mitsotakis noted, adding that the state’s role is to support, not impose, such initiatives: “If fishermen don’t embrace it, we cannot enforce it from above.”
Mitsotakis also pointed to a small coastal area in Turkey where similar measures were adopted with “spectacular results” in replenishing fish populations. He underlined that Amorgorama will not undermine economic activity. “Fishermen will not fish less—they will fish better,” he stressed.
On the issue of regional fairness, he noted the importance of ensuring equal enforcement of fishing restrictions across the Aegean. “It is our responsibility to guarantee that the laws apply to everyone. We cannot apply restrictions here while across the water fishing continues unchecked. Cooperation with Turkey is essential,” he said.
Beyond environmental and economic benefits, Mitsotakis emphasized the program’s potential to boost tourism, envisioning Amorgos—and eventually the wider Cyclades—as a destination that combines sustainability with authentic cultural experiences such as fishing tourism.
“The development we seek must be sustainable,” he concluded. “That is the government’s great wager—and one we are determined to win.”
