A veritable clandestine fishmonger's shop, hidden inside a private residence in the countryside of the municipality of Acerra. This is what the Carabinieri Forestali discovered during an operation to monitor the fish and food supply chain, conducted by officers from the CITES Unit of Naples, the Marigliano Forestry Unit, and the Acerra Carabinieri Station. The operation stemmed from a report of an illegal business primarily dedicated to the sale of eels.
Once on site, the officers encountered an unmistakable scene. A metal structure had been set up with glass tanks containing numerous specimens of Anguilla anguilla, along with a food scale and all the typical equipment used for illegal fishing. Fine-meshed nets used to catch glass eels, the juvenile stage of the eel, and fishing leg guards for operating in rivers and streams completed the picture of an organized and far from occasional activity.
Confirming the commercial purpose of the illegal activity, several notebooks were also found, recording reservations, quantities caught, and sums to be collected from customers. This was a structured sales system, carried out in the complete absence of authorizations and without any guarantees for consumer health.
The operation resulted in the referral to judicial authorities of a 73-year-old man, the owner of the property, and the seizure of over 110 kilograms of eels held without documentation certifying their origin. All the equipment used for illegal fishing was seized, while the local health authority (ASL) staff, who subsequently intervened, issued administrative fines for the total lack of hygiene and sanitation requirements.
The gravity of the situation is compounded by the species involved. The Anguilla anguilla is listed under the Washington Convention and considered vulnerable, so much so that over 95 percent of its population has already disappeared. It is a critically endangered species, classified on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, whose life cycle requires years of migration from rivers to the sea for reproduction.
The seized specimens, still alive, were released into the sea in an area deemed suitable. This gesture reaffirms the efforts of the Carabinieri Forestali, which not only aim to crack down on economic crime but also to protect an increasingly depleted marine ecosystem. The operation has a dual objective: to protect consumer health and to defend a natural heritage seriously threatened by illegal and predatory practices.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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