Shellfish farming in Taranto: tradition, problems and opportunities

Since the end of the 18th century, the Mar Piccolo has been an important site for shellfish farming ('mollusk industry'), whose fame exceeded the national borders. The traditional farming technique of involved suspending specimens of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck 1819 (mussels) from wooden stakes driven into the sea bottom. In the 90's, they began to replace the stakes with long-lines. As concerning production, it reached values comprised between 40,000 - 60,000 tons y-1. A sustainable management plan has never been established for Mar Piccolo. Taranto mussel culture is artisanal and operates traditionally through family-run cooperatives. The total mussel culture enterprise, comprised of 37 individual cooperatives, employs about 900 farmers (of which 600 are part-time workers). Until today, the catastrophic events that affected the Mar Piccolo (a Site of National Interest for its high levels of pollution) have heavily impacted on the goods and services of the basin, including shellfish farming. As an example, in 2011, mussel culture in the First Inlet of the Mar Piccolo was banned following detection of PCBs and dioxins in the mussels. In this critical period in the history of the Mar Piccolo, it is desirable strengthening the support to shellfish farming to improve the quality of mollusks and the life of shellfish farmers, as well as to bring its deep socioeconomic and cultural value back to this ancient activity.