Dozens of potential cases of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Strait of Sicily have been uncovered in a report, which identified more than 20 Italian bottom-trawling vessels carrying out illegal fishing.
The study also traced a Maltese-registered vessel Stella Del Mare 2, which was allegedly fishing in waters within the jurisdiction of Libya and Tunisia between January 2016 and 2018.
The report was compiled by Oceana, an international organisation established in 2001 which carries out science-based campaigns and research about marine life. Its findings were submitted and discussed at two governmental meetings of the General Fisheries Commission of the Mediterranean.
The research was based by tracing the whereabouts of fishing vessels using the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which tracks their movements through satellite and terrestrial receivers.
The information is then processed to determine if any fishing activity was taking place by taking into consideration certain behaviours such as speed, direction and rate of turn.
READ: Illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing is a €19 billion industry - report
Oceana said that countries failed to provide clarification on whether any vessel had been fined or if any punishable action would be taken.
“While Mediterranean governments and their leaders are committing globally to fight pirate fishing under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the very same governments are turning a blind eye to potential cases in their own Mediterranean Sea,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of Oceana Europe.
“Information gathered by Oceana indicates that fishing vessels that can easily be identified are blatantly violating the law in fisheries-restricted areas.”
She noted that the Mediterranean was the most overfished sea in the world with more than 90 per cent of stocks overfished.
“By not taking action governments are jeopardising the future of Mediterranean fisheries and the future of the more than 300,000 fishermen and their families who depend on this sea for food and income,” Ms Gustavsson said.
According to the study more than 20 Italian vessels have presumably fished more than 10,000 hours within a closed area designated to protect young hake fish in the Strait of Sicily.
Moreover, the situation could be even worse as the organisation claims that according to official sources not all vessels are using an AIS and consequently go undetected.