Dolphins are invading the Aeolian Islands. Fishing, tourism, and the environment are becoming compatible (video)

AEOLIAN DOLPHIN PROBLEM –

Dolphins can work miracles , even if for now they have become the bête noire of small, authentic Aeolian fishermen. Nature does not give discounts, and in the microcosm of one of the most beautiful archipelagos in the world, the massive presence of dolphins, the splendor of the Mediterranean Sea in cetacean form, does not come free . According to the calculations of Monica Blasi, authoritative biologist and president of Filicudi WildLife Conservation , the association that protects the Aeolian dolphins , on these islands, among the various species, there are no fewer than a hundred. Around seventy are resident and thirty are transient . To the delight of tourists , of residents who truly love the sea and the environment, of anyone who cares about the Mediterranean ecosystem. But also to the torment of a patrol of 250 small-scale local fishermen who go out in their boats and after a night's work return to land with (almost) empty hands . The numbers speak for themselves, and considering the size of the Aeolian microcosm, there's no margin for error in fishing statistics. For example, squid fishermen in the Aeolian Islands used to catch between ten and fifteen kilos per trip; now, if they catch two or three, it's already a real drag. A disaster . And the main cause of the crash is, above all, the magnificent dolphins. Starving in a sea increasingly depleted of fish, thanks to their intelligence, they station themselves in schools around the boats of small fishermen and, bang, they gobble up the squid. Or, worse, when they're really hungry, they bite into the nets, puncture them, and select the fish to swallow. Scorpion fish aren't allowed to, because they have too many bones; gilt-head bream and white sea bream are, for opposite reasons. Blasi sums it up: "Cetaceans move toward boats simply to eat, given what's happening in our seas..." Yes, we are in Sicily and paradoxes are never lacking: small-scale fishermen are on their knees, also because of the dolphins, but large-scale fishing, often out of any control, continues to plunder fish and can make a real mess of the dolphins.

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INVASION OF THE AEOLIAN DOLPHINS –

How to escape the trap? How to reconcile the interests of the Aeolian fishermen with those of the entire local hotel industry, and with the fact that the dolphin, a crucial detail, is a highly protected marine mammal . The solution is almost obvious, as Fulco Pratesi, founder and honorary president of WWF Italy, suggests: keep the dolphins at a safe distance from the fishing boats using technology, or compensate the fishermen. But for once, the Sicilians, without dividing themselves and splitting over the bigger picture and splitting hairs, have anticipated the dual solution suggested by a father of environmentalism in Europe. Let's hear, on this matter, the voice of those directly concerned, the small-scale fishermen, in the person of Giuseppe Spinella, president of a consortium (Co.Ge.Pa.) that groups together 119 Aeolian fishing boats: "We don't want to kill the dolphins, nor are we thinking of making them emigrate. But we also can't resign ourselves to the idea that the dolphin will become more important than man. Therefore, we are ready for any environmentally friendly solution, as long as it also works for fishing and gets us out of the current disaster, perhaps even allowing us to dream of a model that will be useful for all of Italy."

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ACOUSTIC DISSEMULATOR FOR DOLPHINS –

The solution is called Pingers , an acoustic dissimulator that will be tested starting mid-April on the first Aeolian fishing boats to keep dolphins away using the sound it emits . It costs around 700 euros (there's also a Chinese version on the market, but it's useless), and someone will have to foot the bill. At the forefront for now are charitable organizations like Filicudi WildLife and the Aeolian Island Prevention Fund , coordinated by a true Aeolian woman, Federica Tesoriero, passionate about nature and tourism. Then it will be up to the Region, through the tap of European fishing funds, to do its part, as requested by small-scale fishermen. "In fact, dolphins, compared to fishing, represent an environmental disaster, and therefore public support has become indispensable," says Spinella. And aside from the lexicon—the word "disaster" is perhaps a misnomer—what matters are the facts: aid for fishermen to test anti-dolphin technology, funds for potential compensation or to convert some vessels, and the possibility of granting small-scale fishermen a sort of exclusive fishing rights within 12 miles. Here's the miracle: the dolphins, by snorting and feeding under the boats and cutting the nets, could force Sicily and the South, for once, to lead the way in good administrative practice, with a marine park. This, however, lacks the Aeolian Islands, and where the local economy, especially fishing, does not collapse, but rather thrives. A miracle that would avoid wasting the magical beauty of the dolphins, with the associated environmental and tourism benefits, nor the centuries-old history of fishing, with the associated end-of-month checks for a few hundred families.

(Cover image source: Repubblica.it)

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