Catch of the Day

When we first had the idea of getting out on the Aegean Sea for a couple of hours we didn’t expect to end up on a fishing trawler in choppy water at dawn. And yet that’s what happened.

Yannis, a local fisherman, had offered to take us out on his regular morning run to pull the nets and we’d leapt at the chance, with nary a thought for my historically wobbly sea legs.

A couple of days later it was still dark when we arrived at the dock, and as we stepped aboard the Nikitas, Yannis assured us – with the confidence of someone who knows – there was a beautiful morning ahead. Moments later the first mate released the lines and our seafaring adventure was underway.

Out of the harbour we headed northeast along the coast; we (the royal 'we' of course) would be pulling nets at four positions

Generations of men have fished these waters, but these days it's hard to make a living as a small-scale fisherman

Decades of over-fishing have left stocks in the Mediterranean seriously depleted

Yannis had been right - the day dawned calm and sunny

Until we stopped on the windward side of a small island - then things weren't quite so calm

Unfortunately even the protection of St Nikitas and a double dose of anti-nausea tabs weren't enough to overcome my wobbly legs

Suddenly the mate spotted something in the net and called for the winch to be stopped

It was all hands on deck (well, not my hands obviously ... I was busy leaning over the side of the boat) to retrieve the prized catch

And there it was, a big Axillary Seabream - Greg and Yannis were pretty happy 🙂

With the last net on board it was time to head for home

And with just a little instruction

We had Captain Greg at the helm

Which meant Yannis and the mate could sort the catch

The morning's haul included valuable Skorpina, the red scorpionfish highly prized in Greek kitchens

And at least half a dozen lobsters too; all in all, Yannis was happy with what they'd taken

With the catch boxed up and ready to go, there was just time for a fishing tale or two

Before we were once again at the entrance to Katapola harbour

At the dock, Yannis's wife was waiting

Every day the catch is loaded directly from the boat into the back of their little van

And she heads off to sell it in the village

Your seafood lunch doesn't come much fresher than that

Yannis and helmsman Greg, just a couple of old salts reflecting on a great day (but I think maybe I'll stick to dry land for a while)