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Marevivo also participated in the conference held in Portoferraio for the “Pesca con Gusto” cycle with the contact person Silvestro Mellini, Head of the Marevivo Elba Delegation, who explained the value of the Salvamare Law and the duty we have as educators towards of the children who are the heirs of the environmental heritage.

During the meeting, those present addressed the difficulties that the fishing sector currently encounters, between restrictive regulations, protected areas or areas closed to activity due to major underwater works, lack of personnel and adequate training, lack of a supply chain and of support to the sector and, last but not least, an overbearing pollution that appears even more evident on the seabed rather than on the beaches.

The States General of Fisheries, from Liguria to Lazio and Veneto, met on the Island of Elba with the Councilor for Agriculture and Fishing of the Region, Stefania Saccardi, and the Undersecretary with Delegation for Fishing, Patrizio La Stone, to talk about a sector unknown to non-experts, yet vital for our economy and our tables.

“Fishermen and farmers have no interest in depleting environmental resources. In Tuscany, as in the rest of Italy, the task of the institutions is to reconcile economic and environmental issues. The Meloni Government is engaged in Europe to guarantee the rights of our navy and to enforce the same duties by foreign navies.” declared Undersecretary Patrizio La Pietra.

“A comparison and consultation between the State and the Region but also between Ministries and Institutions is necessary, involving the players in the sector and all the local communities, to find shared solutions to the problems that the sector has to face today and in the near future – he argued in Patrizia Lupi, Director of the Isola d’Elba Foundation, who organized the conference together with the San Leopoldo Cooperative on behalf of the Cittadella della Pesca of Viareggio and the Costa degli Etruschi Flag, opened the event.

Andrea Bartoli, Vice President of Confagripesca Confcooperative listed the topics that will be dealt with in the five conferences organized in the five maritime municipalities of Elba, going into the merits of the theme of the day in Portoferraio: Salvamare law and marine litter. “The extension of marine protected areas and those forbidden to fishing penalizes fishermen who find themselves facing costs and inconveniences even on land where there is no waste transfer areas or equipped docks for fishing services. Reconciling environmental sustainability and economic sustainability is the challenge of the future if we don’t want to lose a richness in human and professional terms that is unique in the Mediterranean.” he has declared.

The Vice-President of the Tuscany Region and Councilor for Agriculture and Fisheries, Stefania Saccardi, who closely follows the problems of the fishing sector, sharing solutions and perspectives with stakeholders, looks forward to the agreement with the Government to find concrete safeguard measures : “Four million euros out of the eighteen have already been recognized in Tuscany by the agricultural policy commission due to the greater constraints we have, compared to other regions, exceeding 50% of the areas protected by the sea. A sea of ​​”value” and quality, the Tuscan one, precisely because of the respect we have for the environment and for the methods of our fishing activity, which deserves to be rewarded and not further penalised. For this reason, fishermen have the full right to sit at the tables not only of the authorities that deal with the management of state property and port planning, but also with those of the environment.”

 

Another important topic was tackled by the fishermen gathered in Fedagripesca confcooperative who asked the representatives of the Government and the Region to make the best use of the available resources thanks to supply chain projects, stimulating those entrepreneurial activities linked to tourism such as sea tourism and fishing tourism or fish processing which would also solve the seasonality especially in those areas where the catch is insufficient in the summer period due to the massive presence of tourists and overabundant in winter, decreasing the number of direct consumers. Finally, training and employment contracts with the various social security measures for EU and non-EU workers. “We must find a way to make young people aware of the opportunities offered by the sector – supported the moderator Patrizia Lupi – defending our roots as fishermen and farmers but making them an opportunity for the future, to encourage generational turnover. Local authorities, the government, trade associations and the third sector, the world of schools, can do a lot, even on the Island of Elba, to attract young people to fishing, as well as to agriculture, fascinating sectors for contact with nature that many young people are looking for, but also tiring, which requires training aimed at employment and fair remuneration”

The fishermen’s representatives, starting with Claudia Fiaschi, president of Confcooperative Toscana, Fabrizio Pasquini, president of Flag Costa degli Etruschi, Paolo Tiozzo, vice president of Fedagripesca Confcooperative Together with Andrea Bartoli, vice president of Fedagripesca Confcooperative Toscana; Alessandra Malfatti, President O.P. Fishing Citadel of Viareggio; Gilberto Ferrari, President of CIRSPE intervened expressly asking that the representatives of the fishing world not only be consulted but also share the choices in terms of infrastructure and environment, because the tradition of respect for our sea, which has safeguarded its quality, must be considered an added value and not a penalty.

Lastly, Andrea Bartoli highlighted the need to extend the world of artisanal fishing to that of product processing and marketing, bringing producer and consumer closer together through short supply chains, with experiential tourism proposals in support of sustainable development of territories from from a cultural, social and environmental point of view, guaranteeing an ever-increasing quality of the product but also a welcoming proposal linked to the identity of the territories where the fishing communities live.

Among the participants in the meeting, in addition to Saccardi and La Pietra, the mayor of Portoferraio Angelo Zini; Stefano Bianco responsible for safety, environment and Piombino services, of the Alto Tirreno Port Authority who spoke about the port areas and concessions and what the port master plans provide for fishermen in the ports of the System; The tax code (CV) Santo Altavilla, commander of the Port Authority of Portoferraio who recalled the Sea Days celebrated at European level and the role, not only of control or sanctioning, that the Coast Guard plays in terms of safeguarding life at sea, of safety of navigation and protection of the coasts and the sea; Giampiero Sammuri, President of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, who spoke of protected marine areas, Natura 2000 protection areas, Cetacean Sanctuary, recalling how the conditions of our seas are improving as evidenced by the return of the Monk Seal to Capraia.

Subsequently Marco Mantovani, president of the Isola d’Elba Foundation, highlighted the role of promoter and facilitator played by the institution in the fields of culture, the environment and social issues to improve the welfare of Elba citizens. Francesco Cinelli of the Scientific Committee of the Elba Foundation, professor of marine biology at the University of Pisa spoke of Posidonia, the true wealth of the Mare Nostrum, a treasure found only in the Mediterranean and in some areas of Australia. Ilaria Leonelli, representing the Acqua dell’Elba Foundation spoke of the dissemination activities to protect the “good sea” conducted by Acqua dell’Elba such as the annual event SEIF – Sea Essence International Festival and the Elba 2035 initiative.

The one in Portoferraio was the first of a series of five conferences dedicated to fishing, which will be held on Fridays, in Marina di Campo (April 21), Marciana Marina (April 28), Rio Marina (May 5), Porto Azzurro (April 12 May).