Slow Fish 2017 sees the participation of delegates from numerous countries: Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Russia, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Uganda and the United States.

Members of the international Slow Fish network are indeed the protagonists of this event: fishing communities, biologists, chefs, consumers and experts. They all take part in this journey across seas, oceans and freshwater to understand the complexity of the aquatic world and improve the management of the sea’s resources.

The theme of this year’s event is: We are the Net. We are all part of a living, interconnected system, and we act upon it when we buy seafood products. The Slow Fish network wants to call our attention to the urgent need for fishing methods that operate in harmony with the delicate ties of the net. The net here is not just a fishing tool, but a web of relations: water, soil, microorganisms, fish, fishermen and consumers.

Along the seafront at the Porto Antico, the Slow Fish Marketplace exhibits fresh fish, preserves, salts, spices, extra-virgin olive oil and much more. Here visitors can meet the producers and fishermen behind the Slow Food Presidia products from the sea. Among them are the Mediterranean Prud’homies and the Natural Breton Oyster Presidia from France; the small-scale fishermen from the Orbetello Lagoon Presidium in Italy, who produce bottarga di cefalo (a traditional preserve of salted mullet eggs), breed sea bass and sea bream to preserve stocks; and the Wadden Sea traditional fishers Presidium from the Netherlands – the last to practice fixed fishing rather than mobile, working with a limited number of marine species.

There will also be several Terra Madre food communities working with fish, seafood and its derivatives: the mangrove fishermen of Muisne from Ecuador, who are developing a project to repopulate marine fauna, shellfish and crustaceans and at the same time protecting mangrove forests; a cook from the Aglou artisan fishers in Morocco; a representative of the Tarja community of native Itelmen from Kamchatka (Russia) which has long dedicated itself to fishing and selling wild salmon; a group of artisanal fishers from the Kerkennah island (Tunisia) who use the charfia to catch fish, a kind of fixed maze constructed from 4,000 date palm leaves; and the Nkombwe fishermen from the northern shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda.

At the Slow Fish Marketplace the public can enjoy the freshness of the ingredients through 18 Fish-à-Porter events: a kitchen in which artisans and chefs organize tastings along with marine biologists and fishers.

The event program also includes conferences on human and environmental health, the wide panorama of virtuous seafood, the protection of biodiversity, food waste reduction and migration issues; Dinner Dates with stars of Italian and international cuisine; and Slow Path guided tours to discover good fishing practices, sea stories and engaging characters across the event.

Visitors have the chance to discover tasty specialties in the Street Food and food trucks area and enjoy a selection of artisanal beers. In the afternoons and evenings, the Enoteca – with 300 wines selected by the Wine Bank – hosts Temporary Tastings. In the Chefs’ Alliance Kitchen 15 Italian and foreign chefs will be taking turns to cook using products that respect the environment and animal welfare. In the Mixology area, the public can learn the stories behind cocktails, their ingredients and how to make them, guided by experienced bartenders. The Pizza Point offers fish themed pizzas prepared by the country’s finest pizzaioli, and the Shrimp Spot serves red and pink Sanremo shrimps, either raw or cooked.