GROSSETO. There were those who prepared and administered fish of dubious origin and in less than optimal hygienic and sanitary conditions, so much so that it led to a suspension of activities. Then there were those who, off the coast of the Argentario, used fishing nets that did not comply with the regulations, thus also catching fish and species well below the minimum size allowed, and those who did not have the identification for their net or too many hooks, more than those allowed, in the fishing one. The last two weeks of May were particularly intense for the Coast Guard which, given the full reopening of tourist activities in seaside resorts and, consequently, the increase in demand for fish products to be consumed in restaurants and establishments in seaside, has decided to strengthen and intensify the coordination of inspection activity on the fishing supply chain throughout the Region, especially with prevention purposes. And so several crimes have also come to light in the seas in the province of Grosseto. The checks were carried out both at sea and at trading points throughout Tuscany to protect the fish resource and the final consumer.
At the restaurant
On this last point, two premises, one in Follonica and the other in Castiglione della Pescaia, were issued with the same number of orders suspending their activity. First the coast guard personnel from Piombino and Castiglione della Pescaia arrived. In the case of Follonica it is an ethnic restaurant, in the other it is a farmhouse. In both cases, however, “after having ascertained the possession of fish products of dubious origin used for the catering service – the coast guard explains – the staff requested the intervention of the prevention technicians of the Grossetana Local Health Authority”. The result was that the food was prepared and administered “in unauthorized premises and with numerous structural and hygienic deficiencies”.
At sea
At sea, however, the patrol boats of the Piombino and Porto Ercole coast guard found, in the waters off the Argentario coast, two fishing boats from the Porto Santo Stefano navy carrying out trawling activities with gear that did not comply with current national legislation. In practice “the size of the mesh of the nets – explains the coast guard – were decidedly smaller than the expected size, producing, as a result, a reduction in the selectivity of the fishing gear with the risk of catching specimens below the minimum size allowed” . Fines of 2000 euros were issued to each of the fishing vessel commanders, while non-compliant fishing gear was subjected to administrative seizure.
Other networks
But it didn’t end there. The naval vessels of Livorno and Castiglione della Pescaia have, in fact, seized “two professional gillnets without – they explain – the identification marking which serves to identify the belonging to the relevant fishing vessel and a few hundred meters of long lines used for sport fishing were found to have a higher number of hooks than required by recent national legislation which reduced their use and possession on board pleasure craft to a maximum of 50”.
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