Environmental Challenges and Policy Responses in Fishing Sector

Abstract

The port of Genoa is among the busiest ports in Italy, and it plays a significant role in the Mediterranean landscape of fisheries and maritime economy. The European Union aims for a more sustainable and circular economy. Following European directives, countries need to develop maritime management plans. A summary and review of the available literature and information on the fishing industry in the specific location of the port of Genoa, Italy, is provided in this paper to understand better the current situation and potentially research solutions for a more circular and green economy of the city. The Italian government has developed a management programme for fisheries on the national level. However, marine resources appear to be overexploited in Italian waters, and the goal of reaching a maximum sustainable yield has yet to be achieved. The impact of fisheries and maritime transportation has been studied over the years. On the other hand, the relationship between the port and the city must be considered. The Italian government recognizes the need for an integrated management plan that revolves around the ecological, economic and social aspects of the problem. Further research is needed to understand better the relationship between the economy, citizens, and port.

To reference this paper: 

Delić, A., 2024. Environmental challenges and policy responses in the fishing sector: The case of Genoa, Italy. In Towards Circular: Analysis of the coastal areas of Greece, Italy and Spain. Edited by Skupchenko, J.K. Think Tank AlterContacts. Available at: https://www.altercontacts.org/publications/towards-circular-2024/it-sd-6

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23139.36649 

Introduction

In the past couple of decades, there has been a worldwide increase in awareness of the implications and consequences of humanity's impact on the environment, which consequently has economic and social implications. Starting in the year 2000, nations have been collaborating internationally on a sustainable development strategy. This work resulted in the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which included 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), among which number 11, 12 and 14, focusing respectively on sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and life below water. 

The fishing industry is historically one of the anthropogenic activities that has imposed a considerable impact on life below water. Fishing activities increased significantly with the acceleration and technological advancements following the Industrial Revolution (Pauly et al., 2005; Thrush et al., 2016). Before the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the 1970s, there was a lack of international regulation of sea resources and the widespread belief that these resources were too vast to be affected by the impact of human activities. UNCLOS has set an economic zone per country that expands 200 nautical miles from the coast, this way assigning marine management of the coast to the respective country. However, the confinement of the marine management responsibility to countries has not slowed down what is referred to as “the race for fish” (Pauly et al., 2005). Catches kept increasing, and one of the first pieces of evidence of the impact of fisheries on marine resources was the reduction in catches’ size. Overexploitation of marine resources is leading to a phenomenon defined as “fishing down the food web”, where the size of the species is decreasing, and the focus shifts towards smaller species down the food web. 

Awareness of this trend is rising among countries. The European Union adopted the Green Deal in 2020, which brings to the table the importance of sustainability and the aim of a circular economy. Regarding marine practices, it is fundamental to implement strategies and processes that will favour a sustainable use of the marine environment, taking into consideration the importance of fisheries on an economic, ecological and social level. To ensure that these objectives are met, countries have been requested to develop a maritime spatial plan to demonstrate their management initiatives and the planning of their coasts. On an ecological side, science has suggested aiming at the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of catches. This is the highest yield that could theoretically be taken from a determined stock without hindering the reproduction process, making it a sustainable way of fishing. However, the marine environment is a complex ecosystem of trade-offs and interconnections, therefore taking into consideration the MSY as the main goal might not be the solution due to the necessity of integrating the social and economic aspects revolving around fisheries. There is, therefore, a need to keep investigating the current role and impact of fishing and develop potential solutions to sustainable development and circular economy. 

This paper presents a literature review of the fishing industry in Genoa, Italy. The aim is to answer the following questions: What is the state of the fishing industry in Genoa? What practices are detrimental to the environment and local community? What is the position of the government on the matter? Are they taking action? Have they been successful? What other circular practices can be applied in fisheries in this area? 

Methodology

For the development of this literature review, an investigation of the available data and information regarding the fishing industry in Genoa was conducted. The research was partly executed on Google Scholar by using the following search terms: “Genoa fishing industry”, “sustainable fishing”, “Mediterranean fishing industry”, “fishing industry environmental effects”, “dredging and trawling effects”. For more specific information about the regulation of fisheries in Genoa, the municipality website and the website of the port of Genoa were explored. Last but not least, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forests website was consulted to gain information about the regulation of fisheries on a national level. This information was then collected, translated where necessary, and summarized to answer the research questions. 

The Current State of the Local Fishing Industry

Genoa is a city located in the northwest side of the country, in the region of Liguria, by the sea. The city is the regional capital, and its port is one of the busiest ports in the country, playing a crucial role in the Mediterranean. According to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, the marine area to which the waters of the port of Genoa belong is the geographical sub-area 9 (GSA 9). This area extends for 42.410 km2, including the Ligurian and the northern Tyrrhenian Seas (Fig. 1).

The European Union adopted in 2013 the Common Fisheries Policy (EU 1380/2013), which provides principles of good governance, general rules on access to waters, general provisions for conservation measures and examples of types of conservation measures. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) suggests, as a conservation measure, the development of a multiannual plan, which the Italian government developed for the years 2017-2019 (extended to 2021) and subsequently for the years 2022-2024. In this “Programma nazionale triennale della pesca e dell’acquacoltura” (Triannual National Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme) they highlight the need to develop coherent management models to reach the MSY, to improve public and private fisheries and aquaculture research, and to promote best practices (Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali, n.d.).

Overall, according to the Triannual Programme, marine biological resources in Italian waters are still overexploited despite some differences in status between individual geographical sub-areas (GSA). It is, however, fundamental to consider the different sources of impact that affect marine resources besides the fishing industry. Only by developing an integrated approach will it be possible to achieve more sustainable use of the Mediterranean Sea and its resources. One approach mentioned in the Programme is the use of a “plafond”, a maximum number of annual fishing days for each trawling fishing unit and quotas for fishing stocks in specific GSAs.

According to the Triannual Programme, landings decreased from 2004 to 2019. Due to stringent European legislation introducing the maximum number of fishing days and the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decrease in 2020. In the specific GSA 9, which includes the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas, the fishing fleet decreased by 600 units from 2000 to 2008, corresponding to a 25% decrease. The Italian fleet is composed of 17.7% of trawling and dredging units, which amount to 59.4% of the total weight of catches. Between 2008 and 2020, the activity of these units, based on the number of days of activity, was reduced by 36%. In the area of interest, GSA 9, the landings of trawling and dredging units amounted to 38% of the total landings of the area. However, these activities are more focused in the regions of Tuscany and Lazio. In the area of Liguria di Ponente (West side of Liguria), fishing activities are limited and primarily focused on red prawns. 

Detrimental Practices

As mentioned above, the port of Genoa is important in Italy and in the Mediterranean fisheries landscape. As such, it supports the economy of the city by providing jobs to the community. The presence of different kinds of fishing vessels and cargo ships transporting containers, various goods, perishable products, metals, forest products, solid and liquid bulk, petroleum products, and passengers entails multiple impacts on the surrounding environment. The port of Genoa also provides services such as ship construction and reparation. The marine environment can be impacted by the pollution produced by vessels, like spillages, contamination, invasive species introduced via ballast waters, noise pollution and collision risks with marine mammals (Roberts et al., 2023). 

Regarding fishing methods, trawling and dredging are associated with catches of demersal fish, crustaceans and molluscs. They allow for bigger catches compared to and higher safety for fishermen (Alverson, 1994); however, they are not a selective method, therefore there is a higher probability of bycatches than with other fishing methods (Hilborn et al., 2023). From an ecological view, these methods can impact the ecosystem in the race-to-fish, causing high mortality of benthos and, consequently, on species relying on the benthos (Thrush et al., 2016). This impact differs based on several factors: days of trawling, the frequency and the habitat in which the activity is conducted. While the reduction of these activities would benefit the marine ecosystem, a complete shutdown would impact the lives of the fishermen in the field. 

To support the activities in place, ports provide services that may prove detrimental to the community and, therefore, fuel a negative relationship between citizens and the port (Roberts et al., 2021). For example, air pollution produced by transporting activities and related traffic may impact citizens' lives. Although several other potentially detrimental activities exist, a deeper analysis of these is not provided in this paper. However, information on environmental monitoring data is collected and publicly available on the regional geoportal of Liguria. 

The Position of the Government

The Italian government has reacted to the European directives by developing a pluriannual plan to manage the fisheries industry, acknowledging the need for an integrated management plan and a focus on research of the field and focus on best practices. There has been a reduction in the fleet in the past couple of decades. The aim is to reduce by 40% in the period 2020-2024 the annual fishing days contained in the regulation EU 2019/1022, establishing a multiannual plan for the fisheries exploiting demersal stocks in the western Mediterranean Sea and amending Regulation (EU) No 508/2014. 

Strategies suggested in the Triannual Programme above include a definitive reduction of fishing capacity, continuative temporary bans and annual rest days; reducing bycatch by gear modification; spatial planning of marine areas; protecting more sensitive areas; and intensifying activities to reduce illegal fishing. While there are plans on a national level, one plan was found specifically for the area of interest (GSA 9) dated 2011 (Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali, 2011). However, no further plans were found for the following years. The lack of information might be due to the lack of developed plans or to an inconclusive search due to research time constraints. 

Additional Sustainable Practices

While the main sustainable strategy has been reducing the fishing fleet and fishing activities, the focus might be shifted to the fishing gear itself, such as trawling and dredging. There are more sustainable alternatives on the market, such as nets that do not come in contact with the seafloor while still being able to catch the target species. Additional sustainable practices may entail the use of renewable energies for the activities within the port, increasing the citizens' awareness of the benefits of the port and improving city-port relations if needed. Roberts et al. (2023) provide a thorough and detailed analysis of potential solutions to ports’ environmental challenges. They summarize mitigation measures for the following: air pollution, traffic congestion, biodiversity, noise, water, light, waste, soil, and visual. 

Conclusion

This paper provides a preliminary overview of the main regulations of the fishing industry both on a national level and in the specific area of interest in which Genoa resides, as well as the main strategies and management plan so far developed. The next step would be to explore the social aspect of the industry, explore the relationship between the port and the city, and gain deeper knowledge about the main polluting activities of the port of Genoa. The government has indeed acknowledged the importance of an integrated management approach; therefore, it is fundamental to understand the industry's impact on society, especially on the local population of Genoa. As Genoa is a very important port in Italy and, overall, in the Mediterranean, there is a strong need for a more complex analysis of the fishing industry, understanding how big the international component is compared to the national one and how much it impacts the local residents. 

Furthermore, the fishing industry not only impacts the ecosystem due to overexploitation but also has a carbon footprint and pollutes the environment, both near and further from the coast. The port itself likely has a significant impact on the surrounding area. A more thorough investigation could lead to additional sustainable alternatives. Following Roberts et al. (2023), research could focus on the potential solutions proposed and investigate their feasibility in the specific setting of the port of Genoa. 

The Italian fishing industry has decreased its fleet as a response to the European Common Fisheries Policy. The government developed a triannual management plan for fisheries and aquaculture for the years 2022-2024, subsequent to the plan for 2017-2020 (extended to 2021). The information provided in the plan gives an overview of the Italian fleet's capacity and landings. The management plan developed in 2011 gives some more specific details on the areas of interest in the Ligurian Sea and northern Tyrrhenian Sea (GSA 9). However, no other plan was found for the following years. In both the national and regional plans, there is a focus on reducing the fleet capacity and on focusing on best practices and research. Despite this, overexploitation continues to pose a problem in the area. The failure of previous plans requires a different strategy and deeper analysis of additional aspects that might impact marine resources besides fisheries itself. Further research is, therefore, needed on the social and economic aspects to develop additional potential intersectional sustainable solutions. 

References

Alverson, D. L. ; F. M. H. ; M. S. A. ; P. J. G. (1994). Global assessment of fisheries bycatch and discard.

Hilborn, R., Amoroso, R., Collie, J., Hiddink, J. G. J., Kaiser, M. J., Mazor, T., Mcconnaughey, R. A., Parma, A. M., Pitcher, C. R., Sciberras, M., & Suuronen, P. (2023). Evaluating the sustainability and environmental impacts of trawling compared to other food production systems. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 80(6), 1567–1579. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsad115

Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali. (n.d.). Programma Nazionale Triennale della Pesca e dell’Acquacoltura 2022-2024.

Pauly, D., Watson, R., & Alder, J. (2005). Global trends in world fisheries: Impacts on marine ecosystems and food security. In Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (Vol. 360, Issue 1453, pp. 5–12). Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1574

Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali. (2011). Piano di Gestione GSA 9 - Mar Ligure, Mar Tirreno Settentrionale e Centrale.

Roberts, T., Williams, I., Preston, J., Clarke, N., Odum, M., & O’gorman, S. (2021). Love thy neighbour: Social benefits and port-city relationships. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313391

Roberts, T., Williams, I., Preston, J., Clarke, N., Odum, M., & O’Gorman, S. (2023). Ports in a Storm: Port-City Environmental Challenges and Solutions. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129722

Thrush, S. F., Ellingsen, K. E., & Davis, K. (2016). Implications of fisheries impacts to seabed biodiversity and ecosystem-based management. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 73, i44–i50. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv114