L’ORO DEL DELTA DEL PO: PRODUZIONE, QUALITÀ E SOSTENIBILITÀ NELL’ALLEVAMENTO DI VONGOLE, COZZE E OSTRICHE

This thesis deals with the issue of bivalve mollusc farming, including the description of the anatomical characteristics of the main species of commercial interest, life cycle, farming techniques, characteristics of the supply chain and future prospects for the sector. From the first Paleolithic hominids that ate mussels and oysters, the consumption of shellfish continued in the following eras and centuries to become today an important sector in the production and distribution economy. Recent regulations have recognized fish farming in the agricultural sector; the aquaculture is no longer a fisherman, but an animal breeder. However, the transition from one professional figure to another is still an ongoing path on which we are proceeding not without difficulty. The great success of aquaculture in general and shellfish farming in particular goes hand in hand with great difficulties due to climatic variations, damage due to environmental pollution, competition from illegal fishing up to the delicate and complex issue of concessions. In the last chapters of this thesis, the sector from collection to distribution is analyzed, in particular as regards the cultivation areas of the territory: Scardovari, Goro, Chioggia and Venice, with particular attention to Scardovari and Goro for which information was acquired. important by interviewing the protagonists of the sector. From what emerged from the surveys conducted for this degree thesis (interviews with producers and representatives of local authorities), a change in two directions can be envisaged for the sector: i) the maintenance of obsolete farming systems in a new market context; ii) the overcoming of traditional farming and reproduction systems and the development of new strategies capable of satisfying the growing demand for food products. It is evident that in the first case the risk is the abandonment of the entire system, while a true development of the sector can be achieved by working on the following points: i) genetic selection, for example to produce individuals more resistant to adverse environmental conditions ( alternation of fresh - salt water); ii) reorganization of the supply chain, in particular favoring short supply chains (producer - consumer); iii) commercial campaigns aimed at making national and local products known and promoting sales; iv) establishment of insurance systems to protect production and tools; v) development of the internal market, intercepting all price ranges including those currently occupied by foreign importers and ensuring the possibility of including aquaculture products in the diet, even as a substitute for animal meat; vi) legislative interventions at Community level to adapt fishing to the agricultural world in terms of regulations and contributions.