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Another differentiation tactic was to draw on the trap’s ecological sustainability

credentials. As we saw in chapter five, the proposal recommends that the traps are considered

for eco certification because they are ‘respectful to the environment and to resources’ due to

seasonality, location, structure, function and the short time that the tuna remain in the traps,

minimising waste in the local seabeds (Ambrosio & Xandri 2015, p. 19). Within this

argumentation the EU proposal draws attention to the minimisation of bycatch partly because

of the Labour Agreement that stipulates ‘one part [of the bycatch] is given to the crew’s

fishermen’ (19). While this sounds similar to the historic practice of divvying tuna organs

among the crew for wage, there is no mention of this practice or the changes to the mattanza

and the pathway to fattening ranches, which have led to the practice’s decline.

The EU proposal considers that socio-economic and cultural aspects of the traps are

of ‘vital importance and should therefore not be minimized’ (Ambrosio & Xandri 2015, p.

47). Employment is the central concern here, echoing wider debates about employment

opportunities offered by small-scale labour intensive fisheries (see fig. 6.3). The EU proposal

states that the number of people employed per trap is on average 43 compared to the average

ten jobs on a purse seine (Ambrosio & Xandri 2015, p. 9). This is slightly higher in the

Sardinian tonnare. The proposal suggests:

Political and economic decision-makers would therefore be well advised to
carefully ponder whatever legislative initiative they may implement with regard to
an activity deeply rooted in the social and cultural fabric of many coastal
communities around the Mediterranean. (Ambrosio & Xandri 2115, p. 47)

Such an appeal is hard to dismiss. However, it must be said that it falls short of detailing how

and which aspects of the social and cultural fabric should be supported, other than the very

important employment. While I can see the political reasons that have resulted in the EU

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proposal avoiding mention of changes to the harvest and local processing , it must be said
that the proposal falls short of providing detail of the cultural aspects that should be sustained

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