'It really is in the interest of the fishing industry itself to do more to protect the Mediterranean biodiversity. It will not be an easy transition, because the socio-economic aspect needs to be managed' according to researcher Saša Raicevich (Photo: Mar Cabra)

Feature

How Italy's passion for fish is destroying its seas

Green Economy

by Valentina Saini, Venice,

The Mediterranean is the world's most overfished sea.

According to the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 75 percent of its fish stocks are exploited in an unsustainable way.

This is bad news for all countries in the area, but especially for Italy, which has the largest fleet in the EU by the number of vessels. Many coastal towns and the welfare of hundreds of thousands of Italians depend on fishing.

The problem is that there is fewer and f...

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Green Economy Feature

Author Bio

Valentina Saini is a freelance journalist specialising in Italian social issues and politics, gender issues and the Middle East and North Africa region.