Major operation in central Naples: three tons of illegal fish products seized.

A large-scale joint operation has shaken the heart of Naples, in one of the areas best known for its concentration of fishmongers. Officers from the Carabinieri CITES Unit and the Forestry Group, along with the Port Authority, the Municipal Police, and technicians from the Local Health Authority (ASL), scrutinized the fish and food supply chain, finding an alarming picture. The inspections led to the seizure of over three thousand kilos of fish and food products stored and sold in violation of regulations, often in appalling hygienic conditions, without traceability, and in unacceptable conditions of preservation.

During the inspections, two people were reported for illegal possession of sixty kilograms of Anguilla anguilla, a species protected by the Washington Convention because it is considered vulnerable in the wild. The eels, lacking any documentation certifying their provenance, were seized and subsequently released back into the sea.

The military also ordered the closure of two fishmongers for serious hygiene and sanitation deficiencies. The administrative fines imposed exceeded twenty thousand euros. A portion of the seized catch, deemed suitable for animal feed, was donated to the Naples Zoo, thus preventing it from ending up in illegal trade or in the environment.

The project, which the agencies involved call a virtuous example of institutional collaboration, aims to simultaneously protect consumer health and the marine ecosystem, increasingly threatened by predatory practices and illicit trafficking that harm vulnerable species and the entire legal supply chain.