An overview of organic aquaculture in Italy

The total organic aquaculture production in Italy in 2015 was of 2347 t, and it accounted for almost 1.1% of the total aquaculture production. This situation is comparable with that of other western countries, where organic production accounts for about 1.5–2% of the total aquaculture production. Between 2013 and 2018, the number of organic fish farms in Italy has more than doubled, that is, from 17 to 41 farms. Most of these organic fish farms are located along the Adriatic coast and in North East Italy (Veneto region), and the main farmed species in that period was blue mussel, followed by gilthead sea bream and rainbow trout. Organic aquaculture is generally considered a promising and growing sub-sector of aquaculture in Italy and in other European countries, and a number of research initiatives have recently been implemented by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, despite these efforts, a clear fact has emerged: only a small percentage of Italian fish farmers demonstrated any interest in producing organically until 2017. The demand for organic aquaculture products in Italy is increasing, particularly among those people who regularly consume organic food. However, there are a number of critical aspects that still need to be addressed: the difficulty of introducing organic aquaculture products into large-scale retail operations, the high prices of the key fish feed ingredients, the difficulties in adapting Directive (EC) 710/2009 to aquaculture and the application of long-term marketing strategies. This paper tries to provide a realistic perspective of organic aquaculture, and thus includes not only the proximate causes (i.e. technical and regulatory aspects) of the current production, but also the remote historical, geographical, political and arithmetical reasons.