{"id":2098,"date":"2012-05-02T18:02:05","date_gmt":"2012-05-02T17:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=2098"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:42:57","slug":"sustainable-seafood-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/sustainable-seafood-in-europe","title":{"rendered":"Eating Fish &#038; Seafood in Italy: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re planning on coming to Italy&#8217;s seaside areas, you&#8217;re probably going to be eating some fish. And you should. There&#8217;s nothing like enjoying a plate of fresh seafood&#8230; overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean water.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18134\" style=\"width: 12010px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18134\" class=\"wp-image-18134\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Sam-20170809-VENICE-Food-Tour0051.jpg\" alt=\"Fish vendor at a market in Venice with many different types of seafood and fish\" width=\"12000\" height=\"8000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Sam-20170809-VENICE-Food-Tour0051.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Sam-20170809-VENICE-Food-Tour0051-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Sam-20170809-VENICE-Food-Tour0051-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 12000px) 100vw, 12000px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18134\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Which fish should you avoid in Italy? And which should you choose?<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/sustainable-seafood-in-europe\/#Intro_to_Fish_and_Seafood_in_Italy\" >Intro to Fish and Seafood in Italy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/sustainable-seafood-in-europe\/#Do_they_eat_salmon_in_Italy\" >Do they eat salmon in Italy?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Intro_to_Fish_and_Seafood_in_Italy\"><\/span>Intro to Fish and Seafood in Italy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The only thing that could be better? Enjoying a plate of fresh seafood, overlooking the water\u2014and knowing that your enjoyment of that fish isn&#8217;t hurting the sea you&#8217;re looking at. Or that your delicious meal is contributing to the fact that the fish itself won&#8217;t be around in a few years.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve never thought about the problems with eating fish before (after all, the ocean is so <em>big!<\/em>), now&#8217;s the time. The world&#8217;s consumption of fish has doubled over the past 30 years. Fishing has become industrialized, with boats using sonar, satellites, even aircraft to zero in on fish, then casting nets miles long. The result: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.slowfood.com\/es\/insights\/tips-for-a-more-conscious-fish-consumption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>80 percent <\/em>of the world&#8217;s main fish species are already at risk of disappearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Another problem, one particularly prevalent in Italy, is &#8220;pirate fishing.&#8221; This is illegal fishing, where unlicensed boats work outside the law, evading environmental protocols to get the most fish, fast\u2014including intimidating small-scale fishermen, overfishing, and using banned fishing methods (like bottom trawling, a method where nets are dragged along the ocean floor, catching some fish but crushing and killing others along with the coral marine animals need to survive).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2156\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0203.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2156\" class=\"wp-image-2156 size-full\" title=\"The Amalfi coast\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0203-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0203-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0203-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0203-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2156\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Unfortunately, fishermen off the Amalfi coast (and elsewhere in Italy) don&#8217;t always follow fishing laws<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Tourists, along with locals, often unwittingly buy fish from these methods<\/strong>. Since 1988, for example, it&#8217;s been a felony to fish so-called &#8220;date mussels,&#8221; or <em>datteri di mare\u2014<\/em>not only do these mussels take about 80 years to mature, but fishing them destroys the coastline. Yet they&#8217;re still fished, <em>and <\/em>sold. The area where they&#8217;re fished, and served in restaurants, most often? The Sorrentine peninsula&#8230; i.e. the Amalfi coast. In fact, the illegal fishing brings 2 million euros a year <em>just <\/em>to the Sorrentine peninsula.<\/p>\n<p>The issue with all of this isn&#8217;t just that fish are disappearing. It&#8217;s also that it&#8217;s upsetting the entire equilibrium of the ocean. Take jellyfish, the example noted by the excellent &#8220;Slow Fish&#8221; site (an offshoot of &#8220;Slow Food&#8221; movement). Noticed how they&#8217;ve become a serious annoyance to swimmers and bathers on beaches across the world?\u00a0It&#8217;s getting worse, and the reason is because jellyfish predators\u2014bluefin tuna, sea turtles, and others\u2014are disappearing, as are the jellyfish&#8217;s competitors for food, like small fish. Result: Jellyfish populations are booming.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, these are big problems.<\/p>\n<p>But one way to help&#8230; is simply to pay attention to what fish you eat in Italy (and everywhere else!).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_they_eat_salmon_in_Italy\"><\/span>Do they eat salmon in Italy?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are some fish you simply shouldn&#8217;t eat. Because so much research has to be done on just which fish are disappearing the fastest, there&#8217;s no one firm list with every variety you should, for now, stay away from.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve put together this handy list to help you dine on the finest, freshest, and most sustainable of the Mediterranean&#8217;s fish\u2014along with the Italian translations! Print it off, put it in your wallet, and take it with you to Italy. The fish will thank you!<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the Mediterrean, fish to avoid generally include<\/strong> salmon (<em>salmone<\/em>), red tuna (<em>tonna rosso<\/em>\u2014a particular favorite of Italy&#8217;s illegal fishermen), eel (<em>anguilla<\/em>), scallops (<em>capasanta<\/em>), grouper (<em>cernia<\/em>), hake (<em>nasello<\/em>), skate (<em>razza<\/em>), tropical farmed shrimp (<em>gamberi tropicali allevati<\/em>), swordfish (<em>pesce spada<\/em>), date mussels (<em>datteri di mare<\/em>), and whitebait (<em>bianchetti<\/em>).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2102\" style=\"width: 2058px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0453.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2102\" class=\"wp-image-2102 size-full\" title=\"Eat oysters in Italy guilt-free\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0453-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"One sustainable shellfish in Italy\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0453-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0453-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0453-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oysters in Italy\u2014delicious and guilt-free!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But there <em>are <\/em>fish you can still enjoy. Mediterrean seafood given the &#8220;green light&#8221; include anchovies (<em>acciughe<\/em> and <em>alice<\/em>), gray mullet (<em>cefalo<\/em>), mussels (<em>cozze<\/em>), shrimp (<em>gamberetto<\/em>), leer fish (<em>leccia<\/em>), cod (<em>merluzzetto<\/em>), oysters (<em>ostriche<\/em>), bonito (<em>sarda <\/em>or <em>palamita<\/em>), sea cicadas (<em>pannocchia <\/em>or <em>canocchia<\/em>), pollack <em>(pollack<\/em>), turbot (<em>rombo chiodato<\/em>), mackerel (<em>sgombro<\/em>), horse mackerel (<em>sugarello<\/em>), and squid (<em>calamaro <\/em>or <em>totano<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>It also helps to order fish that are adult, local, and in season. What does &#8220;in season&#8221; mean? Fish reproduce at certain times of year, so if you eat them according to their season, it&#8217;ll give them the chance to reproduce.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spring: <\/strong>Horse mackerel (<em>sugarello<\/em>), mackerel (<em>scombro<\/em>), tub gurnard (<em>mazzole, capone gallinella, <\/em>or<em> gallinella<\/em>), sea bass (<em>spigola <\/em>or <em>branzino<\/em>), white sea bream (<em>sarago<\/em>), leerfish (<em>cerviola, cagnola, leccia <\/em>or<em> ricciola<\/em>), bonito (<em>sarda <\/em>or <em>palamita<\/em>), sea bream (<em>occhialone <\/em>or <em>pagello<\/em>)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_25007\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25007\" class=\"wp-image-25007 size-full\" title=\"Octopus in the Amalfi coast\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0691-new.jpg\" alt=\"a plate of fresh seafood garnished with herbs and lemon, best eaten locally on the amalfi coast, \" width=\"900\" height=\"598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0691-new.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSC_0691-new-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-25007\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Delicious plates to enjoy, on the Amalfi coast &#8211; refreshing and tasty!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Summer: <\/strong>Horse mackerel (<em>sugarello<\/em>), sole (<em>sogliola<\/em>), gilthead sea bream (<em>orata<\/em>), greater amberjack\/yellow tail (<em>acciola, aricciola<\/em> or\u00a0<em>alice grande<\/em>), sea bass (<em>spigola <\/em>or <em>branzino<\/em>), tub gurnard (<em>mazzole, capone gallinella, <\/em>or<em> gallinella<\/em>), white sea bream (<em>sarago<\/em>), sardines (<em>sardine<\/em>), anchovies (<em>acciughe<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fall: <\/strong>Albacore\/longfin tuna (<em>albacora<\/em>), sea bass (<em>spigola <\/em>or <em>branzino<\/em>), mullet (<em>triglia <\/em>or <em>muggine<\/em>), turbot (<em>rombo chiodato<\/em>), tub gurnard (<em>mazzole, capone gallinella, <\/em>or<em> gallinella<\/em>), dolphin-fish (<em>lampuga<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Winter: <\/strong>Mullet (<em>triglia <\/em>or <em>muggine<\/em>), white sea bream (<em>sarago<\/em>), sardines (<em>sardine<\/em>), greater amberjack\/yellow tail (<em>acciola, aricciola<\/em> or\u00a0<em>alice grande<\/em>), anchovies (<em>acciughe<\/em>), monkfish (<em>rana pescatrice<\/em>), bonito (<em>sarda<\/em>), mackerel (<em>scombro<\/em>), carpet-shell clams (<em>vongole veraci<\/em>), turbot (<em>rombo chiodato<\/em>), octopus (<em>polpo<\/em>), cuttlefish (<em>seppia<\/em>), dolphin-fish (<em>lampuga<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>All year: <\/strong>Gray mullet (<em>cefalo<\/em>)<em>, <\/em>striped sea bream (<em>mormora<\/em>), and saddled bream (<em>occhiatta)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Want to know more about the threats facing the world&#8217;s fish, and how you can help? W<\/em><em>ebsites like <a href=\"http:\/\/goodfishbadfish.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Good Fish Bad Fish<\/a> give great overviews on the issue, and what you can do to help.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>You might also like&#8230;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/ethical-travel\/cortona-italy-documentary-sustainable-tourism-development\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Preserving &#8220;The Genius of a Place&#8221; in Tuscany&#8217;s Cortona<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/cinque-terre\/vernazza-monterosso-trails-open-to-visitors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cinque Terre After the Floods: Is it Open to Visitors?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/best-season-travel-italy-food-produce-eating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">When Is the Best Time to Come to Italy&#8230; For My Tastebuds?<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8038\" src=\"https:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Copy-of-10-BEAUTOF-5.jpg\" alt=\"Fresh fish overflow a basket in an Italian port. Find out which can be eaten sustainably and which you should avoid when traveling. \" width=\"620\" height=\"775\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re planning on coming to Italy&#8217;s seaside areas, you&#8217;re probably going to be eating some fish. And you should. There&#8217;s nothing like enjoying a plate of fresh seafood&#8230; overlooking the sparkling Mediterranean water. Intro to Fish and Seafood in Italy The only thing that could be better? Enjoying a plate of fresh seafood, overlooking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[62,65],"ppma_author":[155],"class_list":["post-2098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-wine","tag-food","tag-act-like-a-local"],"authors":[{"term_id":155,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"walksofitaly","display_name":"Walks of Italy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f4cd4dd0c5ab4b4bae57f3500298e23?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog","last_name":"of Italy","first_name":"Walks","job_title":"","description":"Walks began life as the passion project of two guys with one simple mission: To share their love for, and knowledge of, the city of Rome. Since then, Walks has grown into a team of over 100 ground staff and at any time up to 600 guides, operating across 13 of the world\u2019s most exciting cities (and counting!)\r\n\r\nToday we provide some of the most exclusive and beautifully designed small group tours in the industry through Italy-based Walks of Italy and around the world at Walks, where we offer special access to some of the world\u2019s most iconic landmarks and attractions as well as unique cultural experiences."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2098"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25009,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2098\/revisions\/25009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2098"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}