They can fish them but not sell them. The story of sea urchins is paradoxical, the harvest is open but the Municipality, despite having established the names of the winners of the tender, has not yet assigned the concessions for the kiosks to be built in Su Siccu, in the pine forest between the seafront and Viale Colombo, much appreciated by Cagliari's gourmets. Those structures, despite being strongly contested by environmentalists and by those who think that without restrictions sea urchins will quickly become extinct, allow a paycheck to about thirty families, who are now anxiously awaiting the clearance.
The race
The bureaucratic aspects for the concession of three stations are the responsibility of the Suape, markets, productive activities and tourism service of the Municipality, which is responsible for the construction of the kiosks (paid for by the Department of Public Works). In the offices directed by Alessandro Cossa, the tender was awarded on January 10 but they are still waiting for the responses from the other bodies involved in issuing the authorizations: ASL, Court, Region. Once the positive responses have reached the Municipality, the manager will sign the concessions in a few days, which in turn will trigger the procedures for the construction of the 4 houses (3 for the sale of sea urchins, one intended as a service room for the operators). "We apply the rules established by the Region", says Carlo Serra, municipal councilor for productive activities, who raises a problem. "The fact that the concessions are annual creates quite a few difficulties for our offices, which every 12 months have to repeat the very long and complex procedures for assigning the concessions from scratch. In short - he adds - an increase in burden for structures already struggling due to staff shortages. A more far-reaching program is needed".
The sea urchins
"We can fish but we can't sell the sea urchins because they haven't built the structures yet." Michele Puddu, a sea urchin fisherman, reiterates the concept. "The terms of the tender expired on December 30th of last year and since then we haven't had any news, we've now set a negative record. The times during which we can sell are getting shorter, we'll be able to work for two months. Unfortunately for us, every day less is a drain on us and it's becoming increasingly difficult to amortize the 10 thousand euros spent on connecting energy, water and other tasks." The ethical problem doesn't reach Su Siccu. "We've never had a shortage of customers, even if fishing sea urchins is increasingly complicated. We respect the Region's requirements, checking the size of the sea urchins and that they've been through proper stabling." Have prices increased? "No, they'll remain the same as last year: 12 sea urchins, a glass of white wine and bread for 12 euros."
No to fishing
Emanuele Frongia is the regional president of Fipe (Italian Federation of Public Establishments). "We know the role of sea urchins in the restaurant industry: they are synonymous with delicacy. However, we need to think about sustainability, it is not a question of being environmentalists or not, the product is lacking and for this reason the biological stop is necessary in exchange for economic recognition to the sea urchins". Stefano Deliperi of Grig (Legal Intervention Group), adds fuel to the fire. "The Region has not kept faith with the three-year moratorium for clientelistic reasons. This Council is doing the same. And yet we have an example: in Puglia the biological stop is a reality".
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