Historical overview of the Italian small pelagic fishery: decades of crisis and future expectations

Small pelagics, anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine (Sardina pilchardus) are key species for the Adriatic ecosystem. Unfortunately, in the last two decades, these stocks are registering a strong decrease: their biomasses are declining rapidly towards critical levels. Fishing pressure and environmental variables are the most influential factors addressing this decrease. Anchovy and sardine assume an important role also from the commercial point of view being the most landed species in the Adriatic basin, and notwithstanding they do not reach very high prices, the amount of catches make them crucial species for the economy of the Adriatic fishing sector. The small pelagic fishery is historically an important resource for the harbours located on the Adriatic coast, but in the last decades, the strong reduction of the biomass of these species brought to an important decrease of the fishing vessels targeting these two species. In this context, the historical situation of some of the most important Italian harbours for the small pelagic sector located in the north and central Adriatic is presented. Specifically, landings data collected since the beginning of ’70 up to the present show a continuous decrease, in particular for anchovy. However, this important reduction in landings does not bring an improvement of the stock status of these two species, which in the last decade resulted overexploited and in overexploitation. From the economic point of view, prices seem not to be particularly influenced by the decrease of landings, with anchovy prices reaching higher values. This situation needs actions addressed to favor the recovery of the small pelagic stocks, without seriously compromising the fishery sector. The INTERREG ITACA project inserts in this context promoting the use of a bio-economic model with the intention of reducing catches and increasing fishers’ gains, with the ultimate aim of supporting a sustainable use of fishery resources.