Profitability and sustainability of sea urchins fishing in Sardinia (Italy)

Fishing sea urchins is a traditional activity deeply rooted in several Mediterranean communities. Sea urchin is a basic ingredient of well appreciated typical dishes (e.g., pasta, croutons and pizza), but turnover has not been higher than that of niche markets for a long time. Also in Sardinia, production is almost exclusively sold to local consumers; nevertheless supply cannot satisfy a dramatically rising demand, especially without compromising sustainability due to potential overexploitation of the resource. Given the role played by sea urchins in marine ecosystems, the Regional Authority imposed strict restrictions on fisheries by setting the terms of fishing season, fixing a maximum daily amount of captures and a minimum size for each sea urchin harvested. More than 150 small firms are authorized to harvest sea urchins throughout Sardinian coasts. A strong pressure to overcome normative constraints is in place and facing this problem without considering the microeconomic aspects of sea urchin fishing is hard. On the other hand, there is a lack of studies in the world scientific literature on this issue (Wilen and Wessels, 1997; Reynolds and Wilen, 2000; DFO, 2012). This study aims to estimate economic convenience for capturing and selling sea urchins in Sardinia. Data on structural and balance sheet information were collected from a representative sample of firms. Profitability and cost distribution are estimated for different fishing systems and types of firms. Furthermore, break-even point analysis was carried out in order to compare profitability conditions with sustainability thresholds. Some relevant policy implications arise from these findings.