Anastasios Zakalkas runs a mussel farm in the Aegean Sea. However, last month, when he pulled up the ropes, he was stunned by what he saw: instead of mussels packed on the ropes as usual during the harvesting season, they were covered with broken empty shells.
According to Reuters, this is the second record-breaking effect of ocean temperatures on mussel harvest in northern Greece within three years. Fishermen anticipate a 90% drop in the 2024 catch, with Zakalkas stating that there will be a “complete loss” next year, as all the seedlings for the next season have died.
“The destruction we face next year is 100%,” said the 35-year-old Zakalkas. “We have no idea how we will make a living next year. Our main and only job is to harvest mussels.”
Like other Mediterranean countries, Greece is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, experiencing months of above-average temperatures, severe drought, and wildfires this year. Crops such as chestnuts, apples, and cherries have been affected. Scientists suggest that extreme weather could bring bad news for the aquaculture industry.
In July, Greece faced a series of heatwaves, with the sea temperature in the main mussel production area of Thermaic Gulf exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in a matter of days, a level beyond which mussels cannot survive.
The last major mussel die-off in Greece occurred in 2021, but scientists predict that such a situation will not repeat within the next 10 years.
Zakalkas believes that the government should assist producers in dealing with climate-related costs. “We are very close to the collapse of the Greek mussel farming industry, so the country needs to support these people,” he emphasized.
According to data from the Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization (HAPO), in 2021, the aquaculture production value in Greece exceeded 619 million euros, ranking third in Europe, after France and Spain. As one of the major mussel-producing countries in the European Mediterranean, Greek small family businesses export nearly all of the 20,000 tons of mussels they farm annually.
Spain has also experienced mussel die-offs, but Zakalkas notes that the impact on the Greek mussel industry is the most severe, as almost all farms are concentrated in the same region.
For over a hundred mussel farming families in Kymina, where Zakalkas is located, the future looks bleak. They are seeking national compensation to pay off debt, while others are looking for work in factories.
“We are very scared,” said another mussel farmer, Sotiris Tsaros. “If this happens again next year, we will all have to leave, and everything I have done as a fisherman for the last 30 years will cease to exist.”