Shared Blog(kinda): Fishing Across the Centuries in the Venice Lagoon

Sarah:

Fishing with fyke nets is popular because of it's small demand of fishermen and time. To haul in the catch only one fisherman is needed. They can haul in two point five to five kg per fyke net per day and work six to eight hours a day. Nets are sunk, recovered, and cleaned on a daily basis.

Marsh farm fishing and fishing for fish fry for rearing is an activity related to seasonal migration of juveniles that has been practiced for seven centuries. In 1500 about sixty fish farms were ordered to be destroyed because they "hinder free movement of water" and people were afraid they would "obstruct necessary waterways for port movement." Over the last century the number of fish farms has less than halved and are now condensed in only two ports. the fishing system being used has remained mostly unchanged for twenty years and the fish yield has remained stable. Initially this practice was established to supplement seasonal migration and now marsh fish farms are used for seeding and growth. This is ecologically compatible exploitation and must be managed and controlled in order to maintain stocks.

Mussel farming in "nursery parks" started in the 1930s and production grew and stayed constant for the next sixty years. However, in the last ten years it has diminished. Most mussel farming has shifted from being done in the lagoon to now most being "off-shore" in the sea. This reduction in lagoon farming may be because the lagoon permit is much more complicated to get, or because of the reduced nutrients in the lagoon. Mussel farming is now spreading to other places in Italy, keeping the average price stable.

The Caparozzoli is an Asian clam that was introduced in 1983 as an experiment and has since been a rapidly growing species. It is liked by the fishermen because of its faster growth rate, bigger size, and greater condition tolerance than native clams. The equipment used has a significant impact on the land and water. It changes the morphology and composition of sea beds as well as releasing toxins from post-war industrial activity. The damage caused is estimated to cost ten million for materials to be collected and disposed of and twenty million per year for reconstruction.

The author says that the continuous depletion of fish resources can be possibly explained by two things: The Mortality Phenomena of 2001, or the increased pressure of fishing which has grown recently due to free access and the lack of regulation of catch limits.

This article relates to what we saw in Venice in the huge fish market we got to see. We didn't get to see the fishermen's fishing equipment but it can be assumed that they used some of the tools talked about in this paper. We also walked by the canal where many of the fishermen's boats were docked with a man that helped to run the fish market. He pointed out some illegal fishing gear that was banned but still used because of lack of policing. In our article it talked about a type of rake to dig up clams that is in a similar situation, it is illegal but is still being used.