Quantifying the implementation of Common Fisheries Policy: Patterns of fisheries violations and penalties imposed in Greek waters Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos a,n , George Prodromitis b , Irene Mantzouni c , Constantin Koutsikopoulos d a Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Department of Fisheries-Aquaculture Technology, Nea Ktiria, 30200 Messolonghi, Greece b Ministry of Shipping and the Aegean, Hellenic Coast Guard, 18510 Piraeus, Greece c 29 Syggrou Avenue, 11743 Athens, Greece d University of Patras, Department of Biology, Section of Zoology, 26500 Rio-Patras, Greece article info Article history: Received 19 March 2016 Received in revised form 21 April 2016 Accepted 24 April 2016 abstract Illegal fishing has been recognized as a global problem in achieving fisheries sustainability. In the present study, the fisheries violations and fines/penalties imposed per fishery recorded by Ministry of Mercantile Marine were analysed for the Greek waters during 1999–2013. Spatio-temporal patterns identified were related to: (a) easy access operating illegal fishery, (b) fishing effort/species abundance spatial dis- tribution, (c) area topography, (d) local restrictions, and (e) fleet structure. Findings are crucial towards the specification of the critical zones and temporal closures for setting an efficient control system to- wards achieving sustainability. Improvements to the implementation of the fishing control involve the identification of high-risk areas prone to illegal fishing, the rationalisation of the fisheries legislation, the harmonization of proportionate administrative fines and the increase of transparency in the decision- making process. These might increase the efficiency of the fisheries control which in turns will enhance the credibility of Common Fisheries Policy. These might control the efficiency of the fisheries which in turns will enhance the credibility of the Common Fisheries Policy. & 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The intensification of fishing effort in order to surpass the poor state of fish stocks [1] together in combination with the double increase in fish consumption during the last 50 years [2] appears to increase illegal fishing activities [3]. This, together with the estimation of unreported fisheries landings, has been recognized as a global problem [4]. In fact, illegal fishing has ecological, managerial and socio-economic ramifications by: (a) provoking collateral damage to the marine environment, sustainability of fish stocks and marine biodiversity [5], (b) preventing the estimation of the “true” catches of the stocks that might lead to treacherous managerial directions [6], (c) jeopardizing the credibility of Com- mon Fisheries Policy and EU's effort to promote better marine governance [7] and (d) lowering the prices for legal fish detriment to the fishermen operating lawfully [8]. Assessments of illegal fishing are, so far, done using extensive scale units, such as Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) or Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), and include: (a) indirect estimations on the global level of illegal and unreported catches [9], (b) illegal fishing from large fishing vessels [3,10], (c) behavioural traits of the illegal fishermen [4,11] and (d) theoretical approaches on cost and ben- efits [3,12]. Nevertheless, the use of large spatial units can mask the possible effects that are ecologically relevant at lower spatial scale [13]. In addition, the in-depth understanding of the qualita- tive characteristics of the illegal fishery (i.e. types of fisheries violations, harmonization of new laws and types of fines imposed) has never been described. This attains high significance for the Eastern Mediterranean Seas where the multi-gear nature of the fishery homogenizes the efforts of the fisheries controls and poses difficulties in the implementation of management decisions [14]. In Greece, marine fisheries policy is planned by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, whereas the implementation of the issued laws is supervised by the Ministry of Mercantile Marine through coast guard authorities. Fishing activity in Greek waters is determined by European [15] and National (Decree 420/70) reg- ulations (i.e., licensing system, spatio-temporal prohibitions of fisheries, gear-specific prohibitions, minimum landing sizes and arrangements made for the leasing of lagoons), whereas other supplementary measures complement the management of fishing effort and fishing capacity per fishery. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol Marine Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.04.036 0308-597X/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: dmoutopo@teimes.gr (D.K. Moutopoulos), progonosls@gmail.com (G. Prodromitis), emantzo@hotmail.com (I. Mantzouni), ckoutsi@upatras.gr (C. Koutsikopoulos). Marine Policy 70 (2016) 65–76