News
Massive Illegal Net Removed from Italian Coast Just in Time to Protect Sea Turtle Nests
Wednesday, 09 Jul, 2025
In early June, a joint operation by the Italian financial police (Guardia di Finanza) and Sea Shepherd removed a 5-kilometer-long illegal fishing net off the coast of Castel Volturno in southern Italy. The net had been set just offshore in a key nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), a species classified as vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List.
The massive net, recovered by Sea Shepherd crew onboard the Sea Eagle in close collaboration with the Guardia di Finanza, had trapped several marine animals including cuttlefish, crabs, and other species. Fortunately they were still alive and immediately released back into their habitat.
However, the same net also revealed a more somber reality: a deceased loggerhead sea turtle was found entangled in its netting. This is a concrete and painful testament to the devastating impact that illegal fishing and non-selective gear continue to have on marine biodiversity.
“Illegal fishing gear are silent traps that devastate entire marine ecosystems: they are not selective, they show no mercy. They ensnare turtles, cetaceans, sharks, and every form of marine life that enters their range. Tolerating them means accepting the systematic destruction of our sea."
Andrea Morello, President of Sea Shepherd Italy.
Immediate Impact and Ongoing Efforts
The operation's impact was immediate.
Within days of the cleanup, 16 new loggerhead nests were recorded along this stretch of the Domitian-Flegrean coast at Castel Volturno—marking the beginning of Sea Shepherd’s 2025 sea turtle protection campaign in the region, Operation Jairo Med.
Sea Shepherd Italy volunteers in Campania are conducting land-based surveillance coordinated from the campaign’s mobile base—the Enzo Maiorca camper. The monitoring effort is carried out in collaboration with the Salerno section of ENPA (National Animal Protection Agency) and coordinated by the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station as part of the LIFE Turtlenest project. The activity is further supported by aerial reconnaissance with an ultralight aircraft, which allows for rapid identification of turtle emergence and nesting traces along wide sections of coastline.
Persistent Threats and Renewed Commitment
Despite this success, the threat remains high. Illegal fishing gear and unregulated human activity continue to endanger these fragile habitats, jeopardizing not only the reproduction of the loggerhead sea turtle, but the balance of the entire coastal ecosystem.
“There is no healthy planet without a healthy ocean. Life on Earth originates from and depends on the sea: protecting it is not an act of idealism, but of survival,” reiterated Morello.
Sea Shepherd reaffirms its commitment to fighting illegal fishing, alongside the competent authorities, for the protection of marine habitats and the safeguarding of threatened species.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Guardia di Finanza for their tireless support of marine conservation efforts, and all law enforcement agencies who, with courage and dedication, help uphold the law and defend life in our seas every day.