An Epicurean devastation of marine life

As many Greeks give up certain foods - and eat a lot more seafood - in the runup to Easter next month, a study by the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation found that some 80 percent of seafood restaurants in Greece either serve or allow customers to place advance orders for protected species that are considered culinary delicacies, such as date mussels, fan mussels and Triton's trumpets, but also fish and shrimp that have not reached maturity.

"Unbeknownst to them, of course, we surveyed 70 well-known restaurants. Unfortunately we didn't have to go to any great lengths to confirm our fears. Most have such species on their menu and even advertise the fact online, boasting, for example, of their steamed date mussels with truffle oil," said Anastasia Miliou, head of research at Archipelagos. "With the others, it was just a matter of a simple phone call."

Miliou...