Accelerating the recovery of the European Eel

Illegal fishing, glass eels confiscated by the Viareggio Coast Guard

“In recent days, the Port Authority – Coast Guard of Viareggio has intensified its supervision of the fishing industry, in accordance with the directives of the Livorno Maritime Directorate.”
Read the full article in Italian here, translated into English below:

Pesca illegale: sequestro della Guardia Costiera a Viareggio – Cronaca, Cronaca Viareggio, Top news Versiliatoday.it

La Guardia Costiera di Viareggio ha recentemente aumentato i controlli sulla filiera della pesca, come stabilito dalle direttive della Direzione Marittima di Livorno.Grazie alle segnalazioni ricevute dai cittadini e dalle associazioni che tutelano l’ecosistema marino, i militari hanno individuato e sequestrato diversi attrezzi artigianali utilizzati per la raccolta delle anguille, tra cui nasse, cerchiaie, retini


In recent days, the Port Authority – Coast Guard of Viareggio has intensified its supervision of the fishing industry, in accordance with the directives of the Livorno Maritime Directorate.
The military, also thanks to the reports received from citizens and associations that promote the defense and conservation of the marine ecosystem, have identified and seized, in the port of Viareggio, various craft tools (pots, circles, tightly meshed nets and buckets) positioned in water for the collection of eels.
Similar to previous years, also thanks to the low temperatures, this year too the period of reproduction of juvenile eels has arrived, the so-called “ceche”: it is a highly sought-after fish product whose consumption, however, causes damage to the marine ecosystem, affecting the newborn specimens of an endangered species, protected by international and national conventions and standards for the protection of marine fauna.
Staff and vehicles of the Harbor Master’s Office monitored the docks along the Burlamacca Canal, identifying some poachers intent on fishing for “Glass eels” with sports equipment that did not comply with the law, which were seized.
Illegal fishing was interrupted in the bud, in fact there were few specimens of juveniles found by the military (still alive and rejected in their natural habitat) along the banks of the Burlamacca canal, an emissary of Lake Massaciuccoli and rich in specimens of the so-called “Undersized Glass eel”.
The Port Authority of Viareggio will continue its surveillance activity in the coming days to protect the marine environment and fish heritage, to safeguard fish resources and to protect end consumers, particularly exposed to the risk of purchasing fish products without information on their origin. or unfit for human consumption.



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