They divide their time between fishing nets and porbeagle. After all, it's the only way to avoid losing all the juvenile fish and, consequently, the fish that, once ready, will be caught and sold. The Santa Giusta fishermen, faced with silence from the authorities, have been dismantling the 120 worn steel grids in the Pesaria fishpond for a few days now, with their holes now very large, and installing new ones. All at their own expense. "It was supposed to be our rebirth," the workers cry, "and instead it was a huge bluff."
The case
In 2023, thanks to one million euros funded by the Region as part of territorial planning, the renovation of the Pesaria fishpond, which fishermen had been waiting for for 30 years, was completed. The goal was to restore the structure, which was in a dilapidated state. Eight months after the construction site closed, "But right away, the structure's grates began to show holes, which then gradually grew larger," recalls Emanuele Cossu, president of the consortium that manages the pond. "The Unione dei Comuni dei Fenici had even had a grate analyzed at a specialized center in Modena to determine whether the steel used was the one specified in the specifications, and it was. But then, no one intervened. No one ever explained why the grates had worn out. Our pleas for help went unheard."
The new grills
That's why the fishermen decided to intervene on their own: "We had no other options," Cossu continues, "either everyone went home or everyone went into the water to assemble and reassemble the new equipment. Which is what we're doing. We've already spent sixty thousand euros on steel and PVC grids. We've already purchased around eighty. All of this is absurd and unfair. We're spending our own money. Our salaries, so to speak. It wasn't something we should have done. But the holes, now so huge, no longer allowed the fish to be held in the fish market. It's public money—I want to point out—Cossu says. Clearly misused."
<p>The long-running grids </p>The investigation
In December 2024, the fishermen received an unexpected visit from the Guardia di Finanza. However, their offices lacked the documentation relating to the fishpond's renovation. This is why, shortly thereafter, the officers went to the headquarters of the Unione dei Comuni dei Fenici, the committee responsible for the renovation project. "We haven't heard anything further," explains Cossu. "We were hoping for intervention, especially given the ongoing investigation. But we're not standing still. With the help of the Municipality, we will request funding from the Region. This project cannot and must not be paid for by us."