Italy: Invasion of blue crab poses risks to Mediterranean fisheries

Continued invasions in Mediterranean waters of blue crab, a native of the Atlantic coast of North America, are creating trouble for fishermen and shellfish stocks in Italy, Albania, and other countries, industry and government officials report. The crusty invaders are assumed to arrive in the ballast water of shipping vessels, which is collected along western North Atlantic coasts and discharged often untreated into the Mediterranean. The crabs have no natural predators here and adapt quickly, voraciously consuming local crabs and other shellfish to the point of endangering the ecosystem and the local economies that depend on Mediterranean natural resources. In the western Atlantic, blue crabs are a favorite food of sharks, rays, and other predators, but thrive unchallenged in parts of the Mediterranean.

One solution that has been proposed – eat as many as you can catch – has resulted in about 326 tonnes of harvested crabs in Veneto so far this year but with little observable dent in their population growth. One industry official complained that fighting with a cookbook such a widespread emergency that was causing thousands of fishermen to struggle was wrong. We need a serious programme to control the blue crab in our waters, he said, adding that it was a mere illusion to hope to eradicate this species in the short to medium term. According to the fishers’ association FedagripescaConfcooperative, the crabs had already caused economic damage of about EUR100m in Italy as a whole and have devoured up to 90 of young clams in the Po delta, severely threatening future production.

Spain: Selling commercial fishing to tourists helps fishermen bring in extra income

Want to be a commercial fisherman for a day? A digital reservation platform in Spain that works with the fishing industry, offers trips onboard fishing vessels and other educational but fun activities such as workshops for landlubbers who fancy a taste of what a real job is like. This company, and others, have developed a business that is growing every year, catering mostly to foreign visitors except in Galicia where the market is mostly local. Pescatourism, or fishing tourism, is more than a dockside tourism attraction, it educates and informs the public about an artisanal industry that battles decline as young people increasingly leave for the big city. Furthermore, the fishers and their artisanal vessels and methods that bring the catch from the sea face threats from industrial fishing that may be more efficient but may be less sustainable.

This subsector of Spain’s fishing industry has attracted the attention of the Secretary of State for Tourism, to create a national fishing tourism network that has launched this activity. Nearly a dozen entities from all over the Spanish coast have joined this initiative, to combine the proposals for visits on board, gastronomic fairs and hospitality businesses involved in the dissemination of marine heritage.

Tourists interested in angling can book a tour with a professional fisher in many ports in Spain. Visit https://www.pescaturismospain. com/ for details.

As it evolves, there will be vocational training, where participants become certified fishing tourism workers, with all the various skills in fishing including knot tying, first aid and emergency response, dockside maintenance and management, and more. The certification course will begin in 2023-2024.