In the 50s-60s, the cuisine of some small trattorias, born in Portonovo by the sea, gave a decisive contribution to the knowledge and appreciation of the Conero mussels. At the same time, the fishing of these molluscs, practiced by small fishing boats with the support of divers, is growing massively. In the '60s and' 70s the boats that fish in the Conero coast are about 80, of which 30 of the Cooperative Fishermen of Portonovo. Subsequently, due to the difficulties related to fishing methods and the competition of mussel farming, the quantity withdrawn drastically decreases and also the divers willing to face such work. Secondly, fishing for wild mussels is now limited to very few stretches of coastline, not only in Italy but all over the world.
