It is a blue crab alarm in the lagoon areas of Sardinia . With considerable damage to the small-scale coastal fishing sector.
A real emergency addressed this morning in a meeting between the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, the competent Regional Councilors and the Fishing Associations .
The Councilor for Agriculture, Valeria Satta, pointed out that dedicated financial instruments are needed to deal with the state of calamity , due precisely to the massive diffusion of specimens. "The small-scale coastal fishing sector - the councilor Satta underlined - with particular reference to the Cooperatives and Consortia holders of maritime state concession for fishing purposes in the lagoon areas of Sardinia, is undergoing considerable economic damage linked to the decline in fishing production , as well as those of shellfish farming, and to damage to fishing gear".
The invasive alien species, native to the Atlantic coasts of America, was reported for the first time in Sardinia in 2017 in S'Ena Arrubia, a lagoon area near Oristano, by researchers from the regional agency Agris who are continuing to carry out inspections and scientific monitoring in numerous lagoon areas, following reports received from fishermen, to assess the spread of the species and provide initial technical-scientific support to fishing operators. «In the light of the first investigations – Satta said – an alarming situation emerges. In the last two years , the species has spread exponentially and capillary in the coastal areas, electively colonizing almost all the lagoon environments managed by Consortia and not».
«We strongly believe that we are one of the Regions most affected by this problem which is really damaging our fishermen – he continued -. The technical table is fine but I also ask for political presence as then the fishermen, who ask for answers, we Assessors see them every day. We have to give explanations to the operators of the sea . We have 27 fish compendiums distributed along all the coasts of Sardinia. Fortunately, even today from an economic point of view there is an attractive price offered to our fishermen but this will tend to drop quickly after the summer. The problem is the authorization for the use of gear suitable for catching this species and the disposal of specimens not deemed useful for sale".
The blue crab is spreading above all along the east coast, between San Teodoro and Orosei. And now it is also spreading in the lagoons of Cagliari, especially attacking oyster and mussel farms. The damages that fishermen are noticing the most are those to equipment: the species destroys nets and small pots.
For Minister Lollobrigida, the commercial uses of the animal must also be evaluated, from feed to human consumption.
(Unioneonline/vl)
