The enclosed fish farms of the lagoon of Messolonghi are known as ivaria, divaria or vivaria, a term derived from the Latin word vivarium, which means fish farm. It is considered to be of Italian origin and therefore indicates the cultural links between the two regions. The institution dates back to the times of the Ottoman Empire, when such premises were leased for a certain period of time and whose revenue went to the Sultan. After the creation of the Greek state, they now belong to it and are leased out by the State. Typically, the position of the traditional divaria has remained unchanged since 1826.
These are natural fish farms, trapezoidal structures delimited and lined by stakes. Typically their size reaches up to some 120 square metres. Fishing in the ivaria is carried out by using various traps made of reeds, or today with plastic nets; the fish in the farm are first enclosed, and then caught exclusively with scoop-nets. All fishing activity is influenced by the weather conditions, but especially by the ebb and flow of the tides, which alternate every six hours. Fishermen leave the doors of the fish farms open from January to May to allow the fish to enter and prevent them from returning freely to the sea, after which they are caught.
The organisation of the process of production in the ivaria requires the coordinated action of a group of people, the ‘bunch’ or ‘crew’. In addition to the catching of the fish, the work also includes their processing, i.e. salting the fish, which is done in winter, the production of roes, and the transport of the products to market. Fishing in the ivaria is more profitable than free fishing, so that the leasing of fish farms is a matter of intense competition.
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