The sea in front of Castel Volturno has taken a breather. An illegal fishing net about five kilometers long, positioned a few meters from the shore in a crucial area for the nesting of the Caretta caretta turtle, was removed thanks to a joint blitz between the Guardia di Finanza – Naval Operations Section of Naples – and the environmentalist organization Sea Shepherd. A timely action, made possible by the naval unit Sea Eagle, which neutralized a real underwater trap.
The net, a silent and lethal threat to marine biodiversity, had already become a scene of salvation and tragedy. Inside, volunteers found cuttlefish, crabs and other marine species still alive, immediately released into their environment. But among the meshes was also the lifeless body of a Caretta caretta: a heartbreaking symbol of the damage that illegal fishing continues to inflict on the Mediterranean.
“These tools are invisible weapons against marine life, they strike everything without mercy,” denounced Andrea Morello, president of Sea Shepherd Italy. And the impact of the cleanup was immediately felt. In the days immediately following, the beach recorded new cases of nesting of the Caretta caretta, as if to reaffirm an interrupted natural right.
The stretch of coast of the Domitian-Phlegraean coast, in fact, is considered one of the most important habitats for this protected species, classified as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. The 2025 Campaign of the Jairo Med Campaign Sea Shepherd's mission started right here, with volunteers patrolling the coast day and night thanks to the mobile base "Enzo Maiorca", in collaboration with ENPA Salerno and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, as part of the European project Life Turtlenest.
Aerial reconnaissance with ultralights and continuous monitoring on the ground are making widespread control of the territory possible, but the threat has not disappeared. Illegal networks and the wild human impact remain a constant, a dangerous pressure for the balance of the entire marine ecosystem. “Protecting the sea is not idealism: it is survival,” Morello recalled. And the echo of this truth resonates loudly on the beaches of Castel Volturno, where every turtle nest returned to nature is a small victory against indifference.
Article published by Vincenzo Scarpa on July 7, 2025, at 17:49 PM
Comments (1)
It's important that authorities take action to safeguard the marine ecosystem, but there are still many issues to address. Illegal fishing nets are just one of many threats. We hope this action continues over time.