🐟𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑬𝑭𝑰𝑺𝑯🐟 IN THE PORT OF SFAX, TUNISIA

On Wednesday, February 8^th , Slow Food Tebourba, partner in the SUREFISH project, hosted a meeting with fishermen and fishery professionals in Sfax to introduce the project and its opportunities for traceability, innovation and sustainability of the Mediterranean fisheries.  The SUREFISH consortium, consisting of 13 partners from five countries across both shores of the Mediterranean Sea (Italy, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, and Lebanon) operates synergistically using innovative information and communication technologies (ICTs) for traceability and enhancement of the fisheries, including blockchain, smart labelling and packaging, and analytical and sensory methodologies. At the Port of Sfax, numerous fishermen, representatives of seafood exporting companies, ship owners, Tunisian companies, GIPP, URAP, veterinarians, and representatives of the Port of Sax also met with delegates from Slow Food Tebourba/Gi.&Me. A panel debate was held with fishermen and representatives of fishing companies on the technological tools and means to be used for the implementation of the traceability system in Tunisian fisheries markets. During the session, fishermen from Sfax outlined issues they experience in their daily work operations, pointing that one of the biggest challenges is plastic pollution of the sea in Tunisia. Another issue that has arisen is the blue crab, which has severe impacts on ecosystems and local artisanal fisheries. Fishermen, local entrepreneurs, and representatives of the Port of Sfax relaunched the importance of developing communication and information strategies to promote consumer confidence, with certification marks, the development of digital solutions, to protect endangered species in the Mediterranean, and to share research data with all project stakeholders.