The Government wants to stop blue crab trawling, environmentalists rise up

The Meloni government has asked for an exemption from the European Union to be able to practice trawling within 3 miles, where it has been banned since 2006

ROME – The WWF, Greenpeace Italia, Legambiente, Marevivo and MedReAct express strong concern regarding the Italian government's request for a derogation from the European Union, as a response to the blue crab emergency, particularly felt in the North Adriatic, to open to an “experimental” trawling within 3 miles.The ban on trawling within 3 miles was introduced by the EU in 2006, in all its waters, considering the strong impact of this fishing technique in coastal areas.According to the associations, the situation, although emergency, does not justify this return to the past.The same concern was also expressed by the national scientific community, on the initiative of researchers from the Northern Adriatic, in a joint letter sent to the European Commission.

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The associations are well aware of the socio-economic impact of the increase in blue crab along the Italian coasts and are working at different levels during this emergency phase, but they want to jointly express their firm opposition regarding the Italian Government's request to the European Commission and the consequences that the use of trawling would cause on the coastal ecosystem, including the capture of juveniles of species with high commercial value, with medium and long-term negative impacts for the entire fishing sector.The use of the trawl within three miles could also cause conflicts with artisanal fishing, operating in the same areas.

The complexity of the situation requires that any proposed measure to manage this emergency must be shared with all stakeholders and evaluated by the scientific community, in order to avoid further damage to the ecosystem.The blue crab emergency has already been addressed in other Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Spain, Greece, and also in Italy (case of the Lesina lagoon) without resorting to trawling, but rather by adapting to the fishing with pots, effective and more selective tools, and opening successfully new supply chains and marketing lines.

It is essential that Italy avoids making management errors, such as the use of these non-selective systems, learning to manage this new fisheries resource which can provide an alternative source of income to fishermen and operators throughout the supply chain, thus transforming the emergency into an opportunity.
This situation could have been foreseen, but it is now essential to manage it appropriately without causing further damage to an already fragile and compromised ecosystem, and having a long-term vision that cannot ignore the other factors that contribute to the loss of biodiversity, in particular the issue of climate change which amplifies the effects of the presence of alien species.

A species native to the Atlantic coasts of the American continent, from Nova Scotia to Argentina, the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) was introduced into Europe, presumably via the ballast water of ships, since the beginning of the 20th century and has progressively spread along the eastern coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

After a first report in the Venice Lagoon in 1949, this species has spread along the Italian coasts since the beginning of the 2000s, showing an exponential increase in populations in recent years, mainly in the estuaries and along the coasts of the north-western Adriatic.
This is causing increasing socio-economic problems for the fishing sector, due to blue crab predation on bivalve molluscs, resulting from extensive aquaculture activities in the areas' estuaries and lagoons.At the same time, this species represents a potential threat to the marine ecosystems of the affected areas, already severely depleted and damaged by human activities and climate change.