ANCONA The harvest of wild mussels began in Portonovo a month late. An excellence of the area, much sought after by gourmets, as evidenced by the queue that immediately formed in front of the premises of the Cooperativa Pescatori even before the boats arrived with the precious mollusc, which has become a real brand, with the bay’s chefs ready to cook them, in various variations, and then bring them to restaurant tables. An expectation extended precisely by the delay in the start of the harvest, desired by the fishermen themselves to guarantee a better product, and by widespread fears for the very future of wild mussels, which are increasingly lacking: this is demonstrated by the fact that Mosciolando, the event dedicated to mosciolo which will take place next week, for the first time will be without moscioli, as a provocation and warning from the Slow Food Ancona-Conero Convivium which organizes it.
Collection
A cry of alarm that yesterday morning, in truth, Massimo Mengarelli, the historic mussel fisherman of the bay, who has been doing this profession inherited from the ancient people of Poggio for 50 years, tried to muffle. «That the harvest will be smaller than in recent years and that the size is not very large is nothing new» he said as soon as he got off his boat, from where he had explored the rocks on which the mollusc grows naturally. «We expected it, he says, but accumulated experience teaches me that there were years in which the harvest was more abundant and others in which it was even scarcer. So I am optimistic about the future of the wild mussel, also considering that in the rocks where it is deposited there are many embryonic seeds. Which means that the harvest is guaranteed next year too.”
Sandro Rocchetti, historic fisherman of the bay and member of the Cooperative, returns to the causes of this year’s scarcity. «It is clear that the rise in water temperature has an impact but there are other causes that are being studied scientifically in this period and which could lead to interesting results to try to solve the problem. In any case, I too – he concludes – can certify that there have been worse years. The wild mussel, precisely because it forms naturally, has a cyclical trend, and it seems risky to me to talk about its extinction. We await the outcome of the studies and analyzes that will be carried out in this period”.
