Blue Marine has ten projects in Italy, stretching Tuscany, Sardinia and Puglia to Sicily. In 2023, protected the largest known aggregation of eagle rays in Sicily, saw the return of monk seals to Tuscany, worked to install anti-trawling devices around a marine protected area (MPA) in Puglia, ghost nets in Sardinia preserving coralligenous habitats, and protected sandbar sharks in South Sicily.  

After being blighted by overfishing, the waters around the Aeolian Islands (just north of Sicily) were designated as Natura 2000 Protected Areas. In 2024, we are looking forward to the first nationally designated MPA around Salina, the first Aeolian Island to be effectively protected. This scheme is dependent on the buy-in of the fishers and island communities. To ensure the marine reserve supports the fishers and the fishers support the reserve, Blue Marine has built on its win-win model of sustainable fishing.   

 The fishers of Stromboli and Salina Islands have signed up to responsible fishing ‘codes of conduct’, reducing their gear and fishing pressure in return for insulated fish-boxes and ice machines to improve the quality and value of their catch.  

A bold initiative launched in 2022 by Blue Marine connects MPAs across Italy in some of the richest waters in the Mediterranean. The network aims to protect many of Italy’s marine species. In the scheme, Blue4ItalianMPAs, we have been collaborating with local stakeholders to effectively protect Italian waters,  conserve biodiversity and restore threatened habitats. 

Included in the project are Europe’s largest MPA, the Egadi archipelago in Sicily; Europe’s largest marine park, off the coast of Tuscany; and its largest sea cave, the ‘Grotta di Nereo’ rich of corals in Sardinia. Also in focus are tiny Lampione Island, between Sicily and Tunisia, home to sandbar sharks, and Capo Carbonara, south of Sardinia, plagued by ‘fishing gear dumped or lost, contaminating the sea-bed. We are also working to protect the biggest area in Italy of nesting sites of the loggerhead turtle caretta in Plemmiro MPA, Sicily. A transnational project is identifying sharks and rays hotspots in the Strait of Sicily, both in Italian and Tunisian waters.  

The Italian projects include: training fishers to identify and release sharks and rays trapped as ‘by-catch’, creating pathways of buoys to control diver traffic, laying anti-trawling systems on the sea-bed to combat illegal fishing, codes of conduct for sustainable diving, co-creation of sustainable management plans with fishers and using teams of scuba ‘cleaners’ to remove ghost gear from the bottom, as well as promoting rigorous management plans.  

Blue Marine has also received support from three local charities: Fondazione Capellino, Smile Wave Fund and the Tuscany Environment Fund. A collective approach across the MPA network is the best way to protect the precious habitats and wildlife that surround Italy.