Fish farming

Food, the integrated Italian bluefin tuna chain in the Mediterranean presented in Barcelona

The Seafood Expo Global fair also presented the Made in Italy fish project that aims to land abroad. Della Monica: "The challenge today is not only to fish well, but to organise value"

24 April 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The red tuna of the Mediterranean Sea arrives in Spain with the presentation of OP Tonnieri Italia during the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona. In the hands, a project to strengthen the role of Italia in the supply chain.

The beating heart of the initiative is a model that aims to make improvements throughout the entire chain, starting from fishing and ending with marketing. During the event, the audience was shown how it was possible to apply an industrial vision to consolidate the Made in Italy in a strategic segment of Mediterranean fishing.

The presentation in Spain

Everyone was at the roll call: institutions, sector operators and international buyers. For OP Tonnieri Italiani there was president Fortunato Della Monica. Also present were Fiorella Zabatta, Campania's regional councillor in charge of fisheries and aquaculture, together with MASAF director general Graziella Romito.

For the president of the consortium, the appointment in Barcelona represents 'not a point of arrival, but the beginning of a new phase to strengthen and transform our supply chain into a more integrated model, capable of generating value along the entire chain'. A message that follows that of Councillor Zabatta, who emphasised the role of the Campania fleet as a strategic asset and to work in synergy 'on a specification applicable to all the POs in Campania, to then arrive at a product quality mark'.

The project structure

Supply chain integration, sustainability, traceability and commercial development: these are the four pillars on which the project is based. The aim is to build a direct bridge from the fishing phase to the products on thetables of Italians, to which new job opportunities are added.

Among the main initiatives in the authorisation phase is the construction of a bluefin tuna fattening plant on Italia's territory, with the aim of surpassing the quota generated abroad.

This is followed by the development of a system for quality and traceability to position the Made in Italy product as a reference in terms of food safety, transparency and differentiation in the very international markets with which it will then have to contend.

Future Perspectives

OP Tonnieri Italiani's proposals on the commercial plan are numerous, aiming at a 2027 that uses a strategy oriented to accelerate the presence in Europe of a fresh and frozen product destined for the premium segments and the horeca channel to enhance the origin and quality of national production.

The ambition is to strengthen the competitiveness of Italia products on European markets through a positioning based on excellence, sustainability and full traceability.