Avgotaracho of Messolongi

Avgotaracho is the roe sac of the grey mullet, taken whole, salted, pressed, dried and then coated in beeswax to seal it, and the version from the Messolongi lagoon holds Protected Designation of Origin status, the only Greek fish product with that recognition. Production is tied to the lagoon's fish traps, the ivaria, wooden enclosures that channel migrating mullet in late summer, a system in use since at least the Venetian period. The result is dense, amber-orange, intensely savoury, sliced thin and eaten plain or with bread; it is expensive, sold by the gram, and often compared to Sardinian bottarga. Around the lagoon stand the pelades, stilt huts on the water once used by fishing families, now the image of the place.

What you actually see

• The stilt huts - wooden fishing shelters standing over the lagoon.
• The fish traps - the ivaria enclosures used for the mullet migration.
• The waxed roe - finished avgotaracho sealed in beeswax at producers.
• The lagoon birdlife - flamingos, herons and waders on the shallows.

When to go

Late summer and early autumn for the fishing season and production; the product is sold year-round. Spring brings migrating birds to the lagoon, which is a Ramsar wetland.

Honest expectations

Producers are small businesses rather than visitor centres, so tours depend on asking in advance. The price is high, and the flavour is very strong and salty, not to everyone's taste. Messolongi town is plain and the lagoon edge industrial in places.

Nearby

The Klisova lagoon and its huts lie south; Nafpaktos and the Rio bridge are east along the coast.