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when they enter the almadrabas. As the almadrabas are placed in a fixed location, any physical obstacle that
tuna find on route or that may cause noise or water turbidity affects the entry of tuna into the almadrabas. 5/ The
almadrabas are an indicator of the state of the tuna population, and therefore they should be assigned a quota
that will allow them to be profitable. 6/ Favour the start up and consolidation of projects that improve the
generation of value and the creation of employment, taking the tuna captured using an almadraba as a reference
point. 7/ Subsidise the sustainability certification, using European funds, as a mechanism to promote the
sustainability of a traditional fishing method. 8/ Support the initiative currently in process that will decide
whether the Almadraba fishing technique will be included on the UNESCO`s World Heritage list’ (Ambrioso &
Xandri, 2015, p. 57).
78 Considering this recent history, it was not surprising to learn in early 2016 that the tonnara of Favignana may
return. In early 2016, eight years after the final mattanza, the Tonnara of Favignana Facebook page shared
several links to Italian news articles reporting on the potential return. Nino Castiglione, an established Sicilian
tuna canning company received the necessary licenses and stated that they just needed the quota. Later in 2016 I
learned from a local news source that the tonnara was granted a quota but for scientific purposes only. It will be
interesting to follow the developments over the next few seasons.

CHAPTER 6
79 According to data from 2013 Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are recovering (see ICCAT 2015b).
80
By modern I refer to the post-unification period. For a greater discussion of the political and historical aspects
of regionalism see Levy (1996). See chapter five of this text for a discussion on the particular regional history of
Sardinia, including the relationship between resource use and regional autonomy. I use both terms regionalism
and localism for two reasons. First, regionalism refers to the distinct regions of Italy and a sense of regional
identity. San Pietro is part of the region of Sardinia, however San Pietro is also culturally and linguistically
different from Sardinia because of the origin of the inhabitants. As previously noted they came from Genova
and continue to identify with that part of their history. Therefore, in this context localism is more relevant.
Secondly, I include both terms because both regional and local food cultures are relevant to identity formation.
For example, advertising for the Giro di Tonno focused on the local identity of the island and its particular
cultural history.
81
In Italy these products are referred to as Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) and Denominazione di
Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG).
82
In general quota function as network spaces through the very mechanism of allocating a number/quota to a
species and then to fleets spread over disparate areas.
83
There are some connections to Pálsson’s notion of discourse (see chapter three). Since the introduction of the
fishery management regime that calls upon quota, as Pálsson argued, discourses of nature have also changed.
84
There is also a reaction to a perceived lack of successful government regulation in the form of market-based
tools such as sustainability labelling and certification systems (in Ponte 2012, p.300).
85
Of course these figures do not account for illegal fishing, an area of research that I was unable to study.
86 Throughout my fieldwork in Liguria, Sardinia and Sicily, numerous fishermen and others I spoke to in casual
conversations referred to a tuna fishing mafia. This was brought up in relation to conversations about who can
fish for tuna (i.e. who has quota), as well as when I was planning my visit to Sicily. It was not clear whether this
was a myth that helped to explain recent changes. This was not an area I felt comfortable researching further and
so remains an unknown aspect of how tuna quota and licenses are allocated and distributed in Italy.
87
Giuliano’s brother clarified that a tuna fishing mafia meant that the purse seines have control of the tuna.
88 That said, Giuliano’s father and brother, who are lawyers, were able to lobby in Brussels and presented the
proposal to the European Union.
89 One reason, for example, is that the demise of mattanza and local processing, according to owners and to
some crew, is a situation that arose from low quota. Furthermore it was the only way to sustain the tonnara.
90 By this I mean that the proposal could draw on more aspects of the social study by Addis et al. (2012b) but
also other social accounts. Although there are few some include Emery (2010) for an account of the tonnare of
San Pietro; and Longo (2009) and Longo & Clark (2012) for an account of the tonnara of Favignana and an
excellent social history of changes to the trap fisheries.
91 Political because if the proposal was to focus on the local harvest and processing then it would set itself up for
criticism that these activities have ceased. To speculate further elaborating these specific social aspects of the
traps might then place the traps in a position where there are conditions to an increase of quota, such as, a
percentage that must be harvested locally. In such a situation, of increased quota, Giuliano has already suggested
that he would keep a percentage for local harvest and canning. This, however, is likely to be contingent on the
business understanding they have with the Fuentes group. This speculation is only relevant to the Italian traps
that I have studied.

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