By Eleonora de Sabata and Guy Dinmore in Rome, published on the FT on Sept.29 2011
The European Commission is warning Italy that it risks heavy court fines for its alleged failure to stop large-scale illegal fishing with driftnets that were banned from European waters two decades ago.
The opening of infringement procedures against Italy is expected to be announced in Brussels on Thursday after undercover European Union inspectors reported that the Italian authorities were turning a blind eye to the use of illegal driftnets in the Mediterranean by Italian fishing vessels.
Italy risks “significant” sanctions, which official Italian sources said could amount to fines of €120m.
Officials in Brussels speak of an “embarrassing case that has been going on for decades”. They say Italy will have to provide a very strong argument to persuade Maria Damanaki, the maritime affairs commissioner who has taken a strong stance against illegal fishing, not to refer the case back to the European Court of Justice in two months time.
Tuna and swordfish are part of a multi-million euro industry in the Mediterranean with much of the illegal catches ending up on restaurant tables and sushi bars across Europe. Separate to the EU investigation, Italian authorities are probing the suspected role of the mafia.
The illegal nets, stretching for several kilometres, are set on the surface of the open sea and drift with the currents, catching any large animals that swim to a depth of 20 metres, including small swordfish, tuna and other endangered species such as dolphins, turtles and sharks.
Data obtained by the Financial Times from ICCAT, the fishery body that manages large migratory fisheries in the Mediterranean, show for the first time the quantity of prohibited species caught by Italian vessels over the years.
According to ICCAT, illegal use of driftnets accounted for almost a third of the total official Italian swordfish catch in 2006 and 2007 (4,290 tonnes out of 14,146) as well as a third of albacore tuna in 2007 (1,220 tonnes out of 4,017), plus 2,500 tonnes of small tuna and sharks – prohibited species under EU regulations – caught over several years up to 2009.
Officials say a combination of limited controls and low sanctions (€2,000 at the most) allowed illegal drift-netting to continue. Fishery authorities effectively encouraged this process by allowing fishermen to enlarge legal nets designed to catch sardines and anchovies within three miles of the coast and use them up to 10 miles out where tuna and swordfish are likely to be ensnared.
With more than 700 boats, Italy had the largest fleet of driftnets in the Mediterranean when the ban went into force. Millions of euros in compensation were handed out by the EU and national authorities but many fishermen never gave up one of the most efficient gear ever created.
Fishermen on the small island of Ponza – some of whom had been fined up to 11 times over the years for illegal driftnets – this summer asked for €2,500 a day in compensation when a ruling by the Italian agriculture ministry tried to limit their use.
Investigations by the Coast Guard have uncovered a black market of bluefin tuna, some caught with driftnets, that are suspected of being controlled in part by the mafia.
After persistent calls to enforce the ban by the EU and non-government organisations, three undercover missions by European inspectors this year provided evidence that the situation had not improved since the Court’s judgment and that actions taken were not sufficient to deter their use.
Since their reports were sent to Italy, controls were tightened however. Over 200km of nets were seized by the Coast Guard and last week the ministry ruled that from January next year driftnets shall be halved in mesh size and will only be allowed within three miles of the shore – the size and distance where they would only be able to catch anchovies and sardines.
my stories for the Financial Times 