Capri's faraglioni devastated by date mussel poaching
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
Two criminal gangs have been stopped after devastating large stretches of Campanian coastline to harvest and sell date mussels on the black market.
Capri's faraglioni devastated by date mussel poaching
Two criminal gangs have been stopped after devastating large stretches of Campanian coastline to harvest and sell date mussels on the black market.
Two criminal groups were defacing the faraglioni of the island of Capri to harvest date mussels. Devastating the marine ecosystem. On the basis of charges brought by the Naples prosecutor's office, 19 precautionary measures were requested and granted against the same number of individuals. For six of them, remand in custody was ordered.
Date mussels protected by national legislation and international conventions
The members of the two groups will now have to answer, according to reports by the Askanews agency, for "criminal association aggravated by its purpose of committing environmental crimes, pollution and environmental disaster, damage and handling of stolen goods". All of this following an investigation conducted by the Guardia di Finanza.
Rivedi #BuongiornoItalia del #24marzo:
🟠 Castelfranco di Sotto (#Pisa), donna scomparsa: arrestato un vicino originario di #Firenze;
🟣 #Capri (Napoli), danneggiano i Faraglioni per prelevare i datteri di #mare: 12 arrestati.
Guarda qui: bit.ly/BuongiornoItal…
#IoSeguoTgr
🟠 Castelfranco di Sotto (#Pisa), donna scomparsa: arrestato un vicino originario di #Firenze;
🟣 #Capri (Napoli), danneggiano i Faraglioni per prelevare i datteri di #mare: 12 arrestati.
Guarda qui: bit.ly/BuongiornoItal…
#IoSeguoTgr
It is worth recalling that the capture, possession and sale of date mussels is prohibited by international conventions and Italian law. This is precisely because of the severe damage inflicted on reefs: in order to reach the molluscs, the rock must be fractured. The Agi agency reports that "the faraglioni, according to expert assessors, sustained damage to 48 per cent of their underwater walls".
The molluscs sold for up to 200 euros per kilogram
A catastrophe, in short. But also a particularly lucrative business: suffice it to say that especially during holiday periods a kilogram of date mussels was sold for as much as 200 euros. The price of the destruction of "entire stretches of Campanian coastline", for the benefit of "numerous restaurants and fishmongers in the region, as well as a varied clientele, including members of Neapolitan criminal families".
"For a plate of linguine with date mussels, a square of seabed 33 centimetres per side is destroyed — a criminal act that harms the environment and undermines consumer health by putting untraced fish products on the market", commented Fedagripesca-Confcooperative to the Ansa agency. The organisation notes that the mollusc takes 15 to 35 years to reach 5 centimetres in length.