The

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

Aitoliko Aitoliko (Greek: Αιτωλικό) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Messolonghi, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s complex is located in the north part of the

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras ( el, Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio, Greece, Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio b ...

in the central west coast of Greece. It is one of the most important Mediterranean lagoons. It is a shallow area of 150 km², extended between the Acheloos and

Evinos The Evinos ( el, Εύηνος) is a river in western Greece, flowing into the Gulf of Patras. Its source is in the northern Vardousia mountains, near the village Artotina, Phocis. The river flows in a generally southwestern direction, for most o ...

rivers. It is protected by the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

and it is also included in the

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

network. The largest portion is the Kentriki Limnothalassa ("central lagoon") a shallow sea separated from the Gulf of Patras and the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

by a chain of sand islands and is characterized as open type lagoon. To the north, the Aitoliko lagoon is connected to the central lagoon by a narrow “neck” and resembles a deep lake (depth 28 m) rather than a lagoon. The Anatoliki Klisova, Dytiki Klisova, as well as the western lagoons of the complex, namely Tholi and Palaiopotamos, are some shallow areas characterized as closed type lagoons. These communicate with the sea along channels and receives fresh water from the drainage pump system of the region. These lagoons resembles the typical lagoons of north Italy where ‘’ vallicultura’’ (lagoon aquaculture) is practiced. The bottom of the western and northwestern area of this system is muddy in contrast to the southern and south-eastern part, which is formed by sand and mud and is almost totally covered by ''

Cymodocea nodosa ''Cymodocea nodosa'' is a species of seagrass in the family Cymodoceaceae and is sometimes known as little Neptune grass.

''. The six distinct lagoons can be defined by their topographic and hydrological characteristics.

Abiotic features

The hydrological balance is mostly controlled by meteorological conditions since, due to the absence of significant tides the main factors controlling the water circulation in the lagoons are the wind intensity and direction. On the other hand, because of the limited depth of the lagoons the meteorological changes rapidly affect the abiotic parameters of the water masses. The seasonal changes of the air temperature and rainfall affecting the dynamics the abiotic and biotic parameters of the lagoons. The mean monthly air temperature ranged from 5 to 30 °C with seasonal fluctuations typical of the Mediterranean climate. Two periods of important rainfall were observed, one in spring and another one from October to December. The area is a very important fishing ground for the local community.

Fishing exploitation of the lagoons

The Missolonghi–Aitoliko lagoon system is a property of the Greek State. The exploitation is a common extensive culture based on the seasonal entrance of young fish (mainly fry, as well as 1 and 2 years old specimens) in the lagoons and the autumn to winter offshore fish migration. Eight fishing co-operative enterprises leasing the lagoons and exploiting the two types of the barrier traps installed at the interface between the lagoon and the sea supply the main fish catches. These are passive gears and their position as well as their nature and the effective fishing period, remained unchanged during the last centuries. The so-called independent fishermen who fish mainly with lights,

spears A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

and longlines use the non-leased area of the lagoon system. Furthermore,

gill nets Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

and dip nets are also used in the lagoon all over the year. The total annual fish catches decreased from 1500 – 2000 tn in 1960's to 1300 – 1500 tn in recent years and is provided by 200 fishermen working at the barrier traps and 700 (independent fishermen) fishing in the lagoon. The total annual fisheries landings of the barrier fish traps are estimated in 195 tn and they are mainly composed by 16 species belonging to 8 families.

Eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

(''

Anguilla anguilla The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel, a snake-like, catadromous fish. They are normally around and rarely reach more than , but can reach a length of up to in exceptional cases. Eels have been important sources of ...

''), four species of

Mugilidae The mullets or grey mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since R ...

(''

Liza saliens The leaping mullet (''Chelon saliens'') is a species of fish in the family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal waters and estuaries in the northeast Atlantic, ranging from Morocco to France, and including the Mediterranean and Black Sea. It has bee ...

'', '' Liza aurata,'' '' Liza ramada'' and ''

Mugil cephalus The flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically . It is known with numerous English names, ...

''), two species of

Sparidae The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a ...

('' Sparus aurata'' and ''

Diplodus annularis The annular sea bream (''Diplodus annularis'') is a species of seabream belonging to the family Sparidae. Description ''Diplodus annularis'' can reach a length of about , but usually it is approximately 13 cm long. Body is generally grey-si ...

'') and one species of

Mullidae The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus '' Mullus''. The family name and the English common name mullet derived from La ...

(''

Mullus barbatus ''Mullus barbatus'' (red mullet) is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawlin ...

'') represent more than 92% of the total annual landings. The composition of the fisheries landings varies between lagoons. A group comprised lagoons the landings of which were dominated by eel, the second group was dominated by Mugilidae species and ''S. aurata'', and the third one by ''L. ramada'' and ''M. cephalus''. The diversity index of the fisheries landings was rather constant in time except for the Etoliko lagoon where repeated anoxic crises decreased the diversity index value to almost zero. All landings series showed a dominant annual cycle. Two seasonal patterns of the fisheries landings were observed, linked to the fish spawning behavior and/or their reaction to environmental forcings. In a smaller temporal scale (week to month), the migrations are controlled by the meteorological conditions and the lunar cycles. The increase of ''S. aurata'' landings in Mesolonghi-Aitoliko lagoons complex during the last years can be linked to the rapid development of the fish farms in the around coastal area. A traditional product which is connected with the fishing exploitation of the lagoons is the avgotaracho Messolongiou (like Japanese karasumi and Italian

botargo Bottarga is a delicacy of salted, cured fish roe pouch, typically of the grey mullet or the bluefin tuna (). The best-known version is produced around the Mediterranean; similar foods are the Japanese and Taiwanese , which is softer, and Korean ...

). The mature ovaries of the flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') manufactured in the traditional way as follows: the whole ovaries of flathead mullet are dissected from the fish, washed with water, salted with natural sea salt, dried under the sun and submerged in melted natural wax. This is very famous product with a great commercial value (about 140 €/kg). Also, this is one of the five products in the category of fresh fish, molluscs, crustaceans and products with

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

and geographical indication by laws of the Greek Government and the European Union. The term of protected designation of origin is used to describe foodstuffs, which are produced, processed and prepared in a defined geographical area using recognised specific methods.

Islands in Missolonghi-Aitoliko lagoons

Dolmas Dolma (Turkish for “stuffed”) is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, and common in modern national cuisines of regions and countries that once were part of the Ottoman Empire. Some types of dolma are made with who ...

* Kleisova * Komma * Prokopanistos * Schinias * Tourlida * Vasiladi

Gallery

File:mesolonghi3.jpg, Modern Barrier fishing traps File:mesolonghi4.jpg, Traditional Barrier fishing traps File:mesolonghi5.jpg, Fishes caught in the lagoon File:mesolonghi6.jpg, Avgotaracho

References

* Anonymous (2001). Study of management of fishery exploitation of Greek lagoons. Project PESCA, task 12. Ministry of Agriculture of Greece, Direction of Aquaculture. (in Greek). * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Missolonghi-Aitoliko Lagoons Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Lagoons of Greece Ramsar sites in Greece Fishing industry Missolonghi