Gyaros Island (Aegean Sea) is a recently (2019) established MPA in the Mediterranean Sea, allowing spatiotemporal small-scale fishing (SSF) activities with specific access rules. However, due to the inability of the state authorities to establish any fishing permit process, Gyaros MPA initially functioned as a No-Take Zone (NTZ), offering a rare opportunity for scientific monitoring. Significant political pressure by fisher organizations led to the opening of the MPA in June 2022 without any fishing permit restriction. The unprecedented ‘race for fish’ that followed led to a significant deterioration of the MPA status, as confirmed by scientific monitoring before and after the opening. Outcry from national media, based on concerns raised by the scientific community and NGOs, resulted in lifting access to fishing in September 2022, upgrading Gyaros MPA to a full NTZ. This study aimed to assess if and how the MPA functioning was impacted based on a series of experimental fishing trials and questionnaire surveys conducted with local fishers. Although a substantial part of the fishing community’s mindset is embracing MPAs, our results also suggest that the self-interests of a fishers’ minority, along with non-science-based policy by the national authorities, have led to overfishing and deterioration of MPA status.