After years of restrictions, a turning point has arrived for bluefin tuna fishing: the new three-year decree of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (Masaf) sets a total quota for Italy of over 6,180 tonnes per year and expands the number of authorized boats, also increasing the available quotas.
The provision introduces important innovations, including the opening – on an experimental basis – to small-scale coastal fishing, with dedicated quotas of up to 1.5 tonnes per vessel, and a reward quota for the supply chain, to support product transformation and valorisation activities.
“In Calabria there are 31 authorized boats: this intervention fills a long-awaited gap and represents a concrete signal for the relaunch of the sector – declared the regional councilor for Agriculture, Gianluca Gallo. “The sacrifices of the navies – he added – have contributed to the recovery of the resource and the new phase of growth. Thanks – concluded Gallo – go to the minister Francesco Lollobrigida and to the undersecretary Patrizio La Pietra for the attention and work carried out in favor of the sector”.
The Masaf decree also provides for greater flexibility in the management of quotas, with the possibility of transfers between operators and margins of adaptation based on the trend of catches.