Integrated pond aquaculture and regional identity: ethnobiology of the golden humped tench of Poirino highlands, Northwest Italy

Abstract Background Social–ecological systems are based on particular species and on their direct and human-mediated interactions. The ‘golden humped tench’ or tinca gobba dorata, a variety of tench—Tinca tinca (L., 1758)—traditionally bred in artificial ponds called peschiere in Poirino highlands, northwest Italy, is one of such species. The aim of the study is to investigate the traditional farming of the golden humped tench, the associated knowledge, practices, and gastronomy, and to discuss the changes that the tench, the ponds, and their role in the local social–ecological system are going through. Methods The data analyzed were collected in different locations of Poirino highlands during May–September 2021. Fieldwork included semi-structured interviews (n = 23) with current and former tench farmers about the breeding and gastronomy of the tench and the management of the peschiere. The interviewees’ selection occurred through an exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling, and interview transcripts were qualitatively analyzed through inductive thematic content analysis. Results The golden humped tench has been farmed for centuries in ponds used also to water livestock and to irrigate cultivated fields, and managed by every peasant household in the area. This integrated aquaculture system is underpinned by detailed knowledge on the peschiera ecosystem and on the tench life cycle and supports a gastronomic knowledge that is part of the local heritage. The ongoing process of gastronomic valorization of the tench is sustaining the role of the fish in locals’ livelihoods and as a marker of regional identity, but it is also transforming tench farming, already threatened by livelihood change, pesticides, and invasive species, in controversial ways. Conclusions We argue that ponds and tenches are core elements of the local social–ecological system, defining the cultural landscape and engendering a form of regional identity around them. Studying integrated aquaculture systems and associated knowledge and practices is relevant to design sustainable systems of food production and to address possibilities of conservation of biodiversity and livelihoods in aquatic environments.