The control and enforcement of fisheries in Italy

The report evaluates Italy's transposition of EU IUU and Control Regulations, finding that while enforcement activities are active, the legal framework contains gaps in the definition of 'serious infringements' and the application of immediate enforcement measures. It highlights a trend toward decriminalization of certain fishing offenses, though it notes the successful use of environmental criminal law to prosecute severe ecosystem damage. The document also identifies a lack of public transparency regarding inspection and sanction data and raises concerns about Italian trawlers operating illegally off West Africa.

• Italian law does not fully transpose all 'serious infringements' listed in the EU Control Regulation, specifically omitting the non-transmission of landing declarations in third-country ports and certain engine manipulations as serious infringements.
• Immediate enforcement measures required by EU law, such as the cessation of fishing or rerouting vessels to port, are not implemented immediately upon suspicion in Italy; instead, they are treated as 'accompanying sanctions' following a conviction.
• Italy has decriminalized the holding, landing, transhipping, transporting, and commercialising of juvenile fish (novellame), replacing criminal penalties with administrative fines ranging from 1,000 to 75,000 euros.
• Italian administrative fines for fisheries infringements are set between fixed minimums and maximums and do not follow the EU requirement to base sanctions on a multiple of the value of the illegally obtained fishery products or the environmental prejudice.
• The application of environmental criminal law (Law No 68 of 2015) has enabled the prosecution of IUU fishing as 'environmental pollution' or 'environmental disaster', leading to higher prison sentences than standard fisheries legislation, as seen in the 'Poseydon' and 'Deserto blu' operations.
• There is a significant lack of public transparency in the Italian system, as data on inspections, infringements, and sanctions are not available to the public without a specific formal request.
• Between 1 January and 25 September 2018, Italian authorities carried out inspections resulting in 3,312 administrative sanctions and 296 criminal sanctions, with the highest number of sanctions occurring at sea.
• The report notes that eight Italian trawlers operated off West African coasts in 2016, and the European Commission issued a formal notice to Italy regarding activities in the waters of Guinea-Bissau and Gambia.

APA

ClientEarth (2018). The control and enforcement of fisheries in Italy. https://www.clientearth.org/media/w4uhuurs/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-italy-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. The control and enforcement of fisheries in Italy. 2018. https://www.clientearth.org/media/w4uhuurs/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-italy-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=The control and enforcement of fisheries in Italy |date=December 2018 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/w4uhuurs/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-italy-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2018control, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{The control and enforcement of fisheries in Italy}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/w4uhuurs/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-italy-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }