Boat Tour at the Fish Farm of Messolonghi with Lunch

Stefanos is a professional fisherman based in the holy town of Mesolonghi, at the traditional premises of a natural fish farm. His catches from the lagoon and open sea include grey mullets, breams, sea bass, eels, soles, blue crabs, cuttlefish, and octopus.

Visitors board a small boat from the docks and cross the clear warm waters of the Messolonghi lagoon — a shallow body of sweet and saltwater serving as a wintering refuge and spawning area for sea bream, eel, octopus, and blue crab, and a refuge for flamingos and other sea birds.

At Stefanos’s pole house, he explains the fishing and gathering methods used across centuries for the culinary treasures the lagoon provides. Lunch features crusty bread, ripe tomatoes, salt-cured sea bream, marinated octopus, and bottarga — the air-dried fish eggs so loved by Greeks, Italians, Japanese, and foodies worldwide. Guests also see eel traps and the cages used to direct fish in and out of the lagoon.

Boat Tour of Messolonghi Lagoon

• Lagoon Boat Tour: Sail through the Messolonghi lagoon with professional fisherman Stefanos, discovering the natural fish farm, unique ecosystem, and extraordinary bird life of this Central Greece wetland
• Traditional Fishing: Learn the seasonal fishing techniques used in the Messolonghi lagoon and how Stefanos fishes in harmony with natural wetland cycles
• Traditional Lagoon Lunch: Enjoy a generous lunch of fresh lagoon fish, bottarga, and local Messolonghi specialties prepared with the morning’s catch

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