VIDEO | Blue crab, the fishermen's tale:“We find empty clam shells, we are invaded”

The fishermen in the Ferrara area are now resigned:“We will run out of clams, it will take years to solve this problem, if it is solved at all.”Bonaccini and the chefs in Goro to promote its consumption at the table

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GORO (Ferrara) – Every day from July, but also from the end of June, the fishing boats go offshore and return to the marina with their nets full of blue crabs with large vermilion claws, rather than those of clams.The latter, the gray gold of Goro and Comacchio which supports 1,700 workers in 60 small cooperatives, are increasingly fewer.And yes they are worth (were worth?) half of the total Italian production and 40% of the European one.
“We here have already dropped from a harvest of 40-50 kilos of clams to 15, but we will continue to decrease. We will run out of clams, carry on like this. We already find many empty shells, a sign that someone arrived before us."This is what Ilario Carlini and Mauro Lunghi, two 'workers', as they call themselves, of the Goro Fishermen's Consortium, the Copego, have this to say after returning from today's 'tour'.The situation is increasingly serious, Many people will risk their jobs in the coming months.

The fishermen told what they see every day at sea yesterday, on the day in which the President of the Region Stefano Bonaccini and other authorities arrived in the Ferrara town for a day to promote the consumption of 'Callinectes Sapidus', this is the zoological name of the crab blue, together with some starred chefs.It is a way to defend oneself while waiting for better times, for example when the Government will launch the state of crisis in the sector, hopefully in these parts.“This summer - continue the two fishermen from Goro - 'the music' really began, and now we are invaded.The climate doesn't help us: as long as it continues to be hot the blue crabs won't get stuck and will continue to eat everything.But even after that it will be hard, in fact we don't even know what will happen. It will take years to fix this problem, if it gets fixed at all.There will be many more next year."Among other things, the 'good' blue crabs for the market are only those of a certain size and above;the rest must all be disposed of, incinerated as waste.

Every day the hands of fishermen separate males from females, females with eggs from small females, super large males from large males and that's it.It's a lot of work, but you're getting used to it now.“These crabs settle in quickly and everywhere now.They go into fresh water, towards the Po.Even the experts say so“, sigh Ilario and Mauro.

100 QUANTALS OF BLUE CRAB PER DAY

Meanwhile, the director of Copego Massimo Genari also does the math for them:“In a few months, the blue crab will bring 4,000-5,000 families to their knees between Emilia-Romagna and Veneto.The clams delivered here on our dock are very few now.We only harvest crabs: up to 100 quintals per day, this summer, and now just a few less.But also up to 80 quintals per day.We sell a little more blue crabs now, but it's certainly not enough."Genari remarks:“The situation is very critical, we see very few results with the tools in place so far.We experiment with fences and projection sheets for clam farms, but for example the first storms last week compromised them."Meanwhile, all you have to do is eat it.

At the ad hoc promotion event today in a restaurant in Goro, after the visit of Bonaccini and authorities on the dock, Igles Corelli and the other starred chefs invent everything based on blue crab:from pizza to risotto, from soup to… ice cream.Bonaccini and his councillor, Alessio Mammi, are fighting with the Government to obtain "real help" but in the meantime they are not giving up:“There are various actions that we have implemented in agreement with the consortia, fishing cooperatives and fishermen's associations in recent months, not least an already active tender which provides one million euros in refreshments”.
“We are strongly committed to defending the marine cultural heritage and a balanced ecosystem which is being put at risk by the proliferation of this predator.We reiterate - insist the president and fisheries councilor - the request that the state of emergency or crisis is recognized of this sector in order to activate measures such as the extension and suspension of mortgages, otherwise we risk bringing the work of many companies and cooperatives to their knees".

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