55,000 Visit Slow Fish 2009
20/04/2009
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By 2 pm today a total of almost 55,000 visitors had been recorded for Slow Fish, a near-definitive figure for the event. This year saw a significant increase in attendance, up 20% from the past edition in 2007.
Crowds filled the commercial area on the venue’s upper floor (the market, Slow Food Presidia area and restaurant stands), but the organizers were also satisfied with the popularity of the educational space on the sea-level floor and the Water Workshops on the mezzanine. “We managed to effectively communicate the main Slow Fish themes, thanks also to the media, which paid particular attention to the event. As a result the public already had some awareness of the Slow Fish issues before they arrived,” said Roberto Burdese, President of Slow Food Italy.
Those issues were summed up by the event’s slogan, “C’era un mare di pesci…” (Once upon a time there was a sea of fish…). Over the four days inside the Genoa Fiera’s new Pavilion B, the focus was on the future, looking for answers and solutions to the current bleak state of the fishing industry and our seas. The conclusion was that, yes, it could be possible to have a sea full of fish once again, as long as a series of strategies are followed.
In the first place the role of the consumer will be increasingly fundamental. Consumer education must be an on-going process, and in fact the Mangiamoli Giusti (Fare’s Fair) campaign will not finish with Slow Fish, but will continue to be communicated through the www.slowfood.it website, events and other initiatives.
Secondly, we need dialog to break down the boundaries separating the groups involved (fishermen, retailers, institutions, cooks, universities, consumers, etc.). Without the sharing of problems and solutions, the complexities of the issues facing the sea (much more complicated than those of the land) will remain unresolvable.
Third, conservationists, who often fear any income-generating activities in natural environments, need to find a way to meet the needs of fishing communities and consumers. Some experiences in marine protected areas have shown that a balance in everyone’s interest can be reached.
Fourth, it is clear that in order not to push consumers further away from fishermen and to turn desired outcomes into reality, the role of the commercial supply chain is decisive. It must assume greater responsibility and be active in promoting more virtuous consumption models, along the guidelines the Slow Fish philosophy has brought to a wider public.
