By Betsy Dribben
According to a recent study conducted by the research organization Delphis, Italian fishers continued to use large-scale driftnets at the close of the 2006 fishing season, despite litigation brought by the European Union against Italy for driftnetting in 2004 and 2005.
Delphis is a non-profit group in southern Italy promoting the welfare of Mediterranean dolphins. In a monitoring program commissioned by Humane Society International, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Delphis researchers documented 21 vessels using large driftnets, from 12 kilometers to 25 kilometers (approximately 7.8 miles to 16.25 miles) long. Eighteen of the vessels were Italian, and three had no registration codes.
The Ban and Sidestepping It
A European Union ban on driftnets went into effect Jan. 1, 2002, following lobbying by Humane Society International. A phase-out program, in which fishers were given funds to quit fishing or to convert driftnetting vessels to trawlers or purse seiners, was implemented.
However, pressure on Italian politicians led to a series of ambiguous laws permitting the use of some types of driftnets under different names. This has made it difficult for officials at sea to enforce the EU ban because they must determine which nets are on board vessels, how they will be used and their lengths. The Delphis study documented Italian fishers masking the name or call letters of their vessels or hiding their nets when not in use.
A Threat to Fish, Whales and Dolphins
The Delphis study took place around the Isles of Ischia and Filicudi, an area important not only to fish but also to sperm and fin whales. Entanglement in driftnets is a major threat to whales and dolphins. Sixty-seven cetacean species were sighted during the monitoring program.
Off the Isle of Ischia, the size of nets appeared to diminish from 2005 to 2006, and the number of vessels fell from 17 to nine. But off the Isle of Filicudi, the number of vessels increased from seven to 12, indicating that this environmentally unsound form of fishing persists in Italian waters.
During the study's 80-day monitoring period, approximately 40 swordfish and a number of tuna were documented as having been caught with these nets. Delphis noted in its report that tourists to the region purchase swordfish and tuna without knowing that they could be supporting an illegal trade. These fish are also sold to local restaurants.
Taking the Case to the EU
Humane Society International and its colleagues filed the final report from the study with EU Commissioner of Fisheries Joe Borg to show that Italy continues to ignore EU regulations. The report was also submitted to the United Nations Secretariat for Law of the Seas, the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area, and other international groups concerned with the devastation to fish and cetaceans caused by the "walls of death," as driftnets are often described.
Debate continues regarding the definition of a driftnet. France and Italy are battling to keep a net they call "a tonnaille," which other countries, including Spain, and the French Constitutional Court have ruled is nothing more than a driftnet with a different name.
