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The tonnara and its new configuration that includes a sea cage (top left hand corner of

fig 4.9) was certainly a dingpolitik. As I will explain below, with reference to interviewees,

there was a lot of frustration over the unfair regulation of the tonnara and anxiety for its

future. As I outlined in the previous section, a common complaint was that the tonnara

should not be penalised like industrial fisheries should be. The owners and some tonnarotti

argued that the tonnare should have a higher portion of the quota. They suggested that the

regulations do not take into consideration their different fishing practices and technology.

They also raised the issue of representation and expertise in fishery policy. Many fishermen

that I spoke with, not only from the tonnare but up and down the coast of Italy, raised the

point that the fishery rules are made in the north of Europe (for example the EU Common

Fishery Policy) and do not understand or take into consideration the particular context of the

south. The concerns not only included the claim that the regulations unfairly penalise the

small-scale fisheries, but also revealed tensions about who has the authority to make and

enforce regulations. To better understand the contemporary situation – introduction of sea

cage, decline of mattanza and thus local harvest and organ trade, and risk of closure – we

need to explore these particular tensions produced through pressures from fishery regulations

and competition with industrial fisheries in the tuna market, including also for quota

allocation.

Regulating the tonnara and quota wars

The issue of quota allocation and surrounding tensions is summarised by the term “quota

wars” (Addis 2013). According to Giuliano for the tonnara to be financially sustainable they

need at least 100 tonnes per trap. The consortium has three traps in total. He explains that if

they manage and set one trap in the regular way, with a crew of about 60 people, it costs them

about 500,000 Euro for each tonnara every year (G Greco 2013, pers. comm. 31 May). In

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