Fish consumption is growing at the table, but it is increasingly less coming from our seas.

FISH CONSUMPTION IN ITALY –

We eat more fish but less and less from our seasThe latest FAO report, “The state of world fisheries and aquaculture”, reveals that each Italian consumes 24,5 kilograms of fish per year (we are tenth in Europe) but only one fish in three, according to Coldiretti, it is caught in national waters, the rest comes from abroad and half from developing countries. An absurd waste, considering the quality and goodness of our fish production, in addition to the economic potential that the sector can have in terms of employment and economic growthThis does not mean increasing the catch, which is already above the safety level for many species, but consume more local fish instead of exporting it, even if more profitable.

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FISH CONSUMPTION IN ITALY –

Dependence on foreign fish products has grown over the last 30 years because on the one hand per capita consumption has increased and on the other the quantities of caught fish in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, many of the most valuable species such as the tuna Carloforte red I am now almost entirely destined for the foreign marketIn particular, this extraordinary Sardinian fish, once caught, is shipped directly to Japan due to the high quality of its flesh, considered ideal for making sushi. The combination of these factors has given rise to the paradox for which although being Italy a land surrounded for the most part by the sea finds itself seventh place among European countries with increased dependence on fish products from foreign waters.

FISH QUALITY IN ITALY –

The increase in fish consumption is a fact recorded not only in Italy but throughout the world. The main factor that has allowed this upheaval in the diets of millions of people is aquaculture. The so-called “farmed fish”, in fact, today represents the 44 percent of global production (in the seventies it was less than ten) and 50 percent of consumption. Furthermore, according to estimates, it will be the majority in 10 years. The increase in fish on the table has already brought the first benefits: almost 7 percent of the proteins consumed today worldwide come from fish species, which provide a positive contribution of fatty acids Omega 3, Calcium e vitaminsThe hope is that alongside an ever-increasing spread of this "healthy" consumption, it will also be possible to spread virtuous practices that lead the internal market to exploit the fish species specific to the mare nostrum in order to guarantee consumers the certainty of a “zero kilometer” and quality fish.

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