Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea (in Greek, Αιγαίο Πέλαγος; in Turkish, Ege Denizi) is the part of the sea Mediterranean between Greece and Turkey. It is considered that this sea is delimited to the south by an arc that crosses, in a west-east direction, the islands of Kythera, Antikythera, Crete, Kasos, Karpathos and Rhodes. Due to the arbitrary nature of its southern "limit", it is difficult to attribute an exact area to it, its approximate value being 180,000 km². From north to south, its maximum extension is 600 km, and 400 km from east to west.

Etymology

Its name comes from the legendary Athenian king Aegeus, who, believing that his son Theseus had been devoured by the Minotaur in his labyrinth, threw himself into the sea from Cape Sounion.

Islands

Most of the many islands in the Aegean Sea belong to Greece, but Turkey also has hundreds of islands and islets, although only a few are permanently inhabited, such as Bozcaada and Gökçeada. The difficulty of limiting the respective areas of sovereignty between Greece and Turkey generates frequent diplomatic conflicts between the two countries.

Tourism is the main economic activity of these islands, which represent a fifth of the surface of Greece, but half of its hotel capacity.

Delimitation of the IHO

The highest international authority on the delimitation of seas for maritime navigation purposes, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), considers the Aegean Sea as one of the seas into which the Mediterranean Sea is subdivided (28), specifically from the basin or eastern slope (28B). In his world reference publication, "Limits of oceans and seas" (Limits of oceans and seas, 3rd edition of 1953), he assigns it the identification number 28h and defines it as follows:

South.
A line that goes from the end of Aspro (28°16'E), in Asia Menor, to Cum Burnu (cabo della Sabbia), the northeast end of the island of Rodas, through the island to the end of Prasonisi, its southwest point, to the tip Vrontos (35°33'N), in Skarpanto, through this island to the tip of Castello, the south end of the same
At the Dardanelos.
A line linking Kum Kale (26°11'S) and Corporal Helles.

Limits of oceans and sea, p. 18.

Biogeography and ecology

Protected areas

Greece has established several marine protected areas along its coasts. According to the Network of Managers of Marine Protected Areas of the Mediterranean (MedPAN), four Greek MPAs participate in the Network. Among them is the Alonissos Marine National Park, while the Missolonghi-Aitoliko lagoons and the island of Zakynthos are not in the Aegean.

Economy and politics

Many of the Aegean islands have safe harbors and bays. In ancient times, sea navigation was easier than traversing the rugged terrain of mainland Greece and, to some extent, the Anatolian coastal areas. Many of the islands are volcanic, and on others marble and iron are mined. The larger islands have some fertile valleys and plains.

The Achaemenid dynasty of Armenian kings built one of the longest highways in the ancient world. Its name was 'royal road', its length was 2,400 km, and it was situated between the Persian Empire and the Aegean Sea. A part of the highway passed through the south-west of Armenia, which gave an excellent opportunity to participate in international trade.

Of the main islands of the Aegean Sea, two belong to Turkey: Bozcaada (Tenedos) and Gökçeada (Imbros); the rest belong to Greece. There are political disputes between the two countries over various aspects of political control of the Aegean space, such as the size of territorial waters, air control, and the delimitation of economic rights over the continental shelf. These issues are known as the Aegean conflict.

Transportation

Along the Greek and Turkish coasts of the Aegean Sea there are multiple ports. The port of Piraeus, in Athens, is the main port of Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world, with some 20 million passengers per year. With a volume of 1.4 million TEUs, Piraeus is among the top ten ports for container traffic in Europe and the first container port in the eastern Mediterranean. Piraeus acts twice a year as the center of an important convention maritime, known as Posidonia, which attracts professionals from the maritime industry from all over the world. Piraeus is currently the third busiest port in Greece in terms of tons of cargo transported, behind Aghioi Theodoroi and Thessaloniki. The central port serves ferry routes to almost all the islands in the eastern part of Greece, the island of Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and much of the northern and eastern Aegean Sea, while the western part of the port is used for cargo services.

In 2007, the port of Thessaloniki was the second largest container port in Greece, after the port of Piraeus, making it one of the busiest ports in Greece. In 2007, the port of Thessaloniki handled 14,373,245 tons of cargo and 222,824 TEU. Paloukia, on the island of Salamis, is an important passenger port.

Fishing

Fishing is Greece's second largest agricultural export, and the country has the largest fishing fleet in Europe. The fish caught are sardines, mackerel, grouper, mullet, sea bass and gilthead bream. There is a considerable difference between the fish catches between the pelagic and demersal zones; with respect to the pelagic fisheries, the catches of the North, Central and South Aegean zone groupings are dominated, respectively, by anchovy, horse mackerel and the boops. In terms of demersal fisheries, the catches of the North Aegean and South Aegean aggregations are dominated by red mullet and booby (Spicara smaris), respectively.

The industry has been affected by the Great Recession ^{[citation needed]} Overfishing and habitat destruction are also a concern and threaten grouper populations and sea bream, resulting in a drop in catches of perhaps 50%. To address these concerns, the government has offered Greek fishermen compensation. Although some species are defined as protected or threatened by European Union law, several illegal species, such as the Pinna nobilis, Charonia tritonis and Lithophaga lithophaga molluscs, can be purchased in restaurants and fish markets throughout Greece.

Tourism

Tourists in the city of Mykonos, which is part of the Cyclades Islands.

The islands of the Aegean Sea are major tourist destinations. Tourism to the Aegean islands contributes an important part of tourism in Greece, especially since the second half of the XX century. A total of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located on the Aegean islands; among them, the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on Patmos, the Pythagorean and the Heraion of Samos on Samos, the Nea Moni on Chios, the island of Delos and the Medieval City of Rhodes

Greece is one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, with more than 33 million visitors in 2018, and the tourism industry accounts for around a quarter of Greece's Gross Domestic Product. The islands of Santorini, Crete, Lesbos, Delos and Mykonos are common tourist destinations. An estimated 2 million tourists visit Santorini each year. However, concerns related to overtourism have arisen in recent years, such as inadequate infrastructure problems and overcrowding. Along with Greece, Turkey has also had success in developing tourist areas and attracting a large number of tourists, which has contributed to tourism in Turkey. The expression "Blue Cruise" refers to recreational trips along the Turkish Riviera, including through the Aegean. The ancient city of Troy, a World Heritage Site, is located on the Turkish Aegean coast.

Both Greece and Turkey participate in the Foundation for Environmental Education's Blue Flag beach certification program. The certification is awarded to beaches and marinas that meet strict quality standards that include environmental protection, water quality, safety, and service criteria. In 2015, the Blue Flag had been awarded to 395 beaches and 9 marinas in Greece. South Aegean beaches on the Turkish coast include Muğla, with 102 blue flag awarded beaches, along with İzmir and Aydın, which have 49 and 30 award-winning beaches respectively.