Italy continues illegal use of driftnets

Fishermen are continuing to use large scale driftnets in the Mediterranean, despite the European Union ban on the use of such nets.

Driftnet fishing is known to kill large numbers of marine mammals, including dolphins and whales, as well as untargeted fish species.

The Humane Society International (HSI) has called for action over this defiance of the ban, and has written to U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez, calling on the U.S. Administration to take steps against Italy under the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act. This Act would allow the U.S. government to impose trade sanctions against Italy.

If the full letter of the Act is applied, Italy could lose millions of dollars from a ban on fish and fish product exports.

HSI have called on the U.S. government to intercede, claiming that neither Italy nor the European Union has been willing to enforce the EU ban on the use of large-scale driftnets.

Monitors for HSI, the RSPCA and the Delphis Institute documented incidences of illegal driftnetting by Italian vessels in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Italy's Ischia region last summer. During a 67-day period, Italian fishers were observed using driftnets that ranged from 7 to 12 miles long, with one set of nets running approximately 48 miles in length.

Those monitoring the activity also recorded a dead sperm whale with marks on its body that may have been caused by driftnets, and also a female sperm whale and her calf, deeply entangled in a driftnet. The Italian Coast Guard had to cut them out of the net by hand.

In April 2005, the evidence collected by the monitors was submitted to the European Union and the Italian government. To date, no action has been taken and illegal driftnetting is reported to be continuing.

For more information on the HSI campaign, log on to www.hsi.org.au

Source: www.wdcs.org