You will experience this for yourself if you take a walk in the little local harbours very early in the morning, at the time the fishing boats return and moor. The first customers are the owners of tavernas and restaurants, who select and purchase the fish they estimate they will need for their customers the same day.
In the Municipality of Epidavros there are 50 families involved exclusively with fishing. Some may have an orchard with orange trees or a small olive grove yielding their supply of olive oil for the year. The occupation passes from father to son, as do the professional skills. All but one of the old trawlers have disappeared, but fishing practices continue as of old, with nets and surface-set line (paragadi).
The main fish caught in the nearby seas are picarel, cod, swordfish, tunny, horse mackerel and others. When the catch is small, the fishermen sell the fish locally to tavernas, restaurants and fishmongers. When it is large, part of it is brought to the central fish market in Piraeus. Fishing has its ups and downs but the fishermen of Epidavros love their means of livelihood for themselves and their families.
