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The generational crisis in Italian fisheries is emerging as one of the most critical vulnerabilities affecting the country’s maritime economy. This is the warning launched by Natale Amoroso, President of AIC Pesca, during the XXXIV Rassegna del Mare in Trapani, where he stressed the structural obstacles that continue to prevent young people from entering the sector.
Amoroso described a system in which the pathway to becoming a professional seafarer has become excessively long, rigid and discouraging. Today, between navigation requirements, administrative constraints and procedural delays, a young candidate acquires full qualification only around the age of twenty-five. “The law has not changed, but habits have,” he recalled. “Vessels now go into winter lay-up more frequently than in the past, reducing the opportunities for young fishermen to accumulate the navigation days needed to advance in rank.”
The consequence is a bottleneck that pushes many away from a profession that instead demands practice, continuity and timeliness.
The President of AIC Pesca also highlighted how the current qualification system and manning tables still reflect organisational models of the past. According to Amoroso, the absence of coordination between the ministries of education, labour and fisheries prevents the creation of a coherent pathway capable of supporting true generational renewal. At the same time, the employment discontinuity typical of the sector makes it difficult for young workers to complete the required navigation periods.
This issue, however, goes far beyond youth employment alone. A slowdown in generational turnover threatens the entire fishing supply chain, with possible reductions in productive capacity, impacts on quota management and heightened safety risks on board. A shrinking workforce in the coming years could increasingly weaken Italy’s competitiveness in the European fisheries landscape.
For Amoroso, a decisive institutional response is now essential. Administrative simplification, more agile training pathways and targeted incentives aimed at stabilising youth employment are among the key measures needed to revitalise the sector. The future of Italy’s blue economy, ha sottolineato, depends on the country’s ability to make the fishing profession attractive, sustainable and aligned with the expectations of new generations.
Italy’s fishing sector is facing a severe generational decline
As highlighted by AIC Pesca, outdated regulations, bureaucratic constraints and employment discontinuity have made the professional pathway too long and unattractive for young people. Without effective reforms, the entire fishing supply chain risks losing essential skills and productive capacity, weakening its competitiveness and long-term sustainability.
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