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Local community

Flag macedonia The mussel farm site is situated in the municipality of Delta, an area with a relative low population (40,000 habitants) distributed in the three municipal units (Axios, Chalastra and Echedoros). The main activities are agriculture (rice fields), the plain area produces more than 70% of the entire national rice crop production, a major source of income for the local population. Of secondary importance is the activity of grazing, which appears sporadically and is not well organised.
 
The shallow waters of the Delta and the adjacent coastal area provide shelter to the juveniles of most of the fish and other commercial species as shrimps, in Thermaikos Gulf. Thus, the site has tremendous importance for maintaining the fishing grounds of the North Aegean Sea. Mussel farming in the Delta accounts for 90 % of the country's total mussel harvest production and is one of the most important - and profitable - activities practised by the local population. Also the drinking water supply for the nearby city of Thessaloniki comes mainly from the catchment area of Aliakmonas River.
The site is not far from important archaeological sites, of which the most visited is the tombs of Vergina, capital of the ancient Macedonian Kingdom.The social value of the site as a protected area is increasing and has led to the development of a value for eco-tourism, environmental education and bird watching, although relevant facilities are low. Macedonia
 
Moreover the area is of great scientific value in the fields of biology, ecology, hydrology and geology.
 
There is no lodging provided in the protected area. Visitors can stay in hotels of the nearby cities (Thessaloniki, Sindos, Veria, Katerini) or in by–the-sea hotels, rent rooms and camping of the Prefecture of Pieria (Methoni, Makrigialos, Korinos, Paralia Katerinis).