In 14th-century Byzantium, caviar was a poor people?s food, and with a fortnight?s wages, a laborer could buy a 45kg barrel! It is now in short supply and extremely expensive: 45 kilograms of Beluga caviar cost a fortune. Will we see the same thing happening in a few years? time for cod, red tuna and mullet? Will fish such as sardines and anchovies still be cheap? Will it still be possible to go shopping for whatever fish you want? Probably not. Fish caught in the sea will be a rarity, a food for a privileged few. Optimists say that our oceans are a complex system and fish stocks will recover from their present depleted levels. But we have to take into account that demand is constantly increasing, and that destructive fishing methods and pollution are affecting stocks. The crisis in the caviar industry was not caused by excess demand; the numbers and size of sturgeon decreased as a result of excessive organic material discharged into rivers and the Black Sea. Reckless fishing practices in the name of easy money did the rest. We fear the same thing will happen in the oceans: fish stocks will collapse as a result of environmental degradation, the accumulation of toxic residues (the levels of mercury and dioxins in large deep-sea fish are already critical), the increasing sophistication of fishing methods, the wasteful use of fish for industry or feedstuffs and the accommodating attitude of international institutions responsible for fish. These are the issues that will be discussed at Slow Fish in numerous seminars and a conference with fishing communities, quality aquaculturists, trade associations, scientists and consumers in attendance
04/05/2007 - 07/05/2007One day tadult ticket: ? 5,00
Slow Food associates: ? 1,00
Children 0-10 years old: FREE
4 day pass: ? 15,00
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