A group of Greek fishermen have sent an extrajudicial document to the Greek government calling on it to take specific actions against the encroachment of Turkish fishermen in Greek waters in the Aegean Sea. The fishermen claim the Hellenic Coast Guard does little to protect them against the aggressive Turkish boats ion the area.

“Turkish fishermen are invading Greek seas undisturbed, taking advantage of the fact that there have never been any arrests even when the Coast Guard’s fleets caught them in the action of fishing illegally within our territorial waters”, the document signed by 36 fishermen says.

They are calling for measures because, as they claim, “we now feel, as inhabitants of the borderlines, that we are faced with an unfair, undeclared war with Turkish fishermen and Turkish patrol boats, which aid them in illegal fishing.”

As they point out their grievances with the competent Maritime Ministry was met with the response that nothing can be done as any actions could lead to the escalation of tensions between Greece and Turkey.

The document stresses that Turkey has effectively managed to implement a gradual policy of “conquering sea areas” with large numbers of fishing boats.