Venetian Waterways

When I pictured Venice, I imagined a town on the sea with winding canals and gondolas; what I didn't factor in was how being on the water affected the city. I assumed that because we came from Sorrento, which is also on the water, that Venice would have similar, comfortable weather. I was wrong. Going from warm, balmy Sorrento to bone chilling cold Venice was an unexpected shock. The temperature was above freezing level but the wind that came off of the Venice lagoon made it seem like it was below freezing.
Even though the waterways affected the temperature in a negative way, they are vital to the fishing industry in Venice. In the Venice lagoon there is a specific type of clam called the caparozzolo that is able to be collected year round. Fishermen seek out this clam because of its high yields and profits. Illegal rakes and tools are used by the fisherman who catch caparozzolo which increases the number of clams caught but in return, harms the ecosystem of the Venice lagoon in the process. In order to decrease the damage to the lagoon, specific areas of the lagoon are allocated to fisherman.
The article, "A Multi-Object Auction for Selling Fish Permits in the Venice Lagoon", explains the benefits of auctioning off the fishing permits to harvest the clams and compares it to grandfathering (choosing which plot goes to which fisherman) the clamming areas. Supposedly, auctioning off the fishing permits is more efficient and allows a more even distribution of goods compared to grandfathering. With grandfathering, local authorities give fishing areas to those fisherman who have fished in the particular area for a long time or they give it to those with the greatest political power. Even though grandfathering is said to be inefficient, that is the method that is used in the Venice lagoon. Regardless of the method chosen, it is vital to maintain the ecosystem of the lagoon not only for the fishing industry but for the tourist industry as well. Even though Venice was cold, seeing the lagoon and the waterways with the gondolas was a memorable experience and I would not hesitate to come back in the spring or summer.