Overseas
There is a simple question the fishing sector should be asking itself today: if, in a non-EU country where the European Union has no fisheries agreement, now known as a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, there are still opportunities to work, why has no one ever seriously tried to follow that path?
The truth is that these opportunities really do exist. Legal ones, of course. European and international rules do not close the door. On the contrary, they allow room for action. Where there are no public agreements between states, collaborations between companies, joint ventures, private partnerships and structured projects can still be developed, provided they comply with authorisations, local regulations and sustainability principles.
So the problem is not always the law, as is often claimed. Much more often, the real problem is the lack of ideas and the lack of will.
The North African countries overlooking the Mediterranean are right in front of us. They are close, they have resources, ports, markets and a natural position for building economic relations with Sicily and with the Italian fishing fleet. Thinking about operating there under an Italian flag, within clear rules, is not fantasy. It is a concrete and legally achievable possibility.
So why has nothing ever been done?
For years, the sector has remained stuck on the same problems: high fuel costs, declining catches, public aid, protests and urgent demands. Real problems, of course. But in the meantime, no one has worked seriously to open new paths.
It would have been far more useful to invest money and time in technical studies, international relations, legal advice, economic missions, projects with foreign partners and support for vessel owners interested in growth. Instead, millions of euros are wasted on pointless projects and promotional campaigns that often look more like favours than real strategies, starting with the red shrimp campaign: an unprecedented waste of money, made even worse by the fact that the same initiatives are constantly being proposed again and again.
One question must be asked: who really benefits from all this? The companies? Not at all.
Then there is another issue that many prefer to avoid: who truly represents the sector today?
The same people are always there, year after year, decade after decade. The same names, the same groups, sometimes changing form but always remaining in place. And yet, after so many years, the results are hard to see: few prospects, few young people, little innovation and increasingly lower incomes.
This is not a personal attack on anyone in particular. It is simply a fact: if the same methods that have failed for years continue to be proposed, it is difficult to imagine that anything will change.
But responsibility does not lie only with those who lead. It also lies with those who continue to accept everything without demanding competence, results and a new vision.
The sea still offers opportunities. But it takes courage to look beyond the usual limits.
