The Coast Guard station of Castellammare di Stabia intercepted and sanctioned a recreational boater found fishing from a boat inside the Banco di Santa Croce Biological Protection Zone, in the waters off Vico Equense.
The area is subject to a prohibition on both professional and sport fishing. The operation was carried out under the coordination of the Naples Maritime Directorate and the 4th Fisheries Control Area Centre.
The Banco di Santa Croce is known for corals, gorgonians and a variety of marine species, including red coral. It has also been included in a proposal to expand the Punta Campanella Marine Protected Area, although the current status of that proposal is not established in the reports reviewed.
The primary report on this latest incident does not state the amount of the fine imposed, nor does it provide the exact date, coordinates or identity of the vessel involved.
What the protection rules cover
The protection regime for the Banco di Santa Croce derives from ministerial measures that established the biological protection zone and prohibit fishing there. Under those measures, all professional and sport fishing is prohibited within the zone.
A related earlier enforcement report described the protected radius as 1,000 metres. That detail comes from coverage of a previous case and should be confirmed against the formal enforcement record for any specific incident.
A previous enforcement case in the same area
This is not the first documented check in the zone. In an earlier enforcement operation reported in the same area, a sport fisher was removed from the protected area, two fishing rods were seized, and a fine of 1,000 euros was reported.
Related coverage of illegal fishing in the area has described fines potentially ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 euros. That range has not been confirmed as the amount applied in the latest incident described by the primary source.
The two documented cases show enforcement activity by the Castellammare di Stabia Coast Guard in the Banco di Santa Croce, but do not by themselves establish the frequency or scope of ongoing patrols.
