Greek reconstructed fisheries catches show recession rather than recovery

Reliable fisheries catch data are essential for robust stock assessments, ecosystem modelling, and the testing of ecological hypotheses, thereby informing policy decisions that support sustainable ecosystem-based fisheries management. However, official Greek marine fisheries data have long suffered from underreporting, taxonomic inconsistencies, and the exclusion of discards, small-scale, and recreational catches. This study presents an updated, spatially disaggregated reconstruction of Greek marine fisheries catches in the Aegean and eastern Ionian Seas from 1950 to 2022. Using official datasets from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (HELSTAT), augmented with discard estimates from the EU Data Collection Framework and recreational catch data from extensive field surveys, we corrected for the presentist bias and inconsistencies in reporting protocols. We applied species- and fleet-specific adjustments, retroactively incorporated landings from small-scale vessels with engines<20 HP, and resolved key taxonomic ambiguities, highlighting the importance of continuous methodological refinement in fisheries data. Our results reveal that total catches have historically been underestimated by over 25%, with significant implications for stock assessments and ecosystem modelling, and therefore for sustainable fisheries management. The reconstructed dataset reveals a prolonged recession in Greek fisheries, contradicting official statistics that suggested a phantom recovery after 2016. This work will support more accurate assessments and ecocentric management of marine resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, a region increasingly vulnerable to climate, fisheries, and other anthropogenic pressures. It is important, however, that the GFCM/FAO databases be updated with the reconstructed datasets for the period 1950-2016, as the recently improved catch records of Greece from 2016 onward represent a case of presentist bias. Without retroactive correction, this leads to inconsistencies and erroneous applications.