US embassy cable - 04ROME1296

UNCLAS  ROME 001296 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
RULSJGA  Commandant, US Coast Guard 
RUCOCGA Commandant, Atlantic Area US Coast Guard 
RUCPDC Commerce/NOAA/NMFS Enforcement, Sustainable Fisheries 
 
DEPT FOR OES FOR DAS BALTON; OMC FOR TINKHAM, WARNER-KRAMER 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE 
 
COMMERCE FOR NOAA/NMFS/IA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIS, SENV, PHSA, ETRD, IT 
SUBJECT:  2003 driftnet enforcement data - no violations in 
international waters 
 
REFS: A) STATE 8931  B) 2003 STATE 317193 
 
1.  Summary:  On January 22, Department and Embassy Rome 
officers met with Paolo Scarpa Bonazza Buora, the Italian 
Under Secretary of Agriculture responsible for fisheries. 
The U/S was very familiar with the driftnet problem and 
urged his Fisheries people to pass the 2003 enforcement data 
to the Embassy within January 31.  The 2003 enforcement 
data, which we had already requested on December 2, 2003, 
arrived on time and showed that all the notified driftnet 
violations occurred in Italian national waters.  End 
summary. 
 
2.  On January 22, as requested by ref A, EST section 
arranged a meeting for OES/OMC officer Stetson Tinkham with 
Paolo Scarpa Bonazza Buora, the Italian Under Secretary of 
Agriculture responsible for fisheries.  Attilio Tripodi 
(Fisheries Director) and Comm. Pietro Verna (head of 
National Center for Fishery Control and Operations) joined 
the U/S.  SCI Karen Milliken and Federica Signoretti 
represented the Embassy.  Tinkham made the point that both 
sides need to concentrate on completing the steps necessary 
to put this matter behind us.  Scarpa Bonazza emphasized 
that he was very familiar with the driftnet problem and that 
he was the person in his Department responsible for the 
issue.  Using his "power", he emphatically "ordered" Comm. 
Verna to provide to the Embassy the 2003 enforcement data by 
January 31, 2004.  He also asked Tripodi to pass us the 
names/registry numbers of the final 89 driftnet boats to 
accept (or ordered to accept) the buy-out.  Note:  per Ref. 
B, the Embassy had asked Verna and Tripodi to receive the 
2003 enforcement data on December 2, 2003.  Verna had told 
us that, since the Port Captaincies do not make driftnet- 
only enforcement statistics anymore, it would have taken a 
long time to get the data.  The embassy had also asked 
information about the driftnet recycling program (also per 
Ref. B), but never received an answer on it.  The list of 
the last driftnet buy-out boats has not arrived yet.  End 
note. 
 
------------------------------ 
2003 Driftnet Enforcement Data 
------------------------------ 
 
3.  The 2003 enforcement data arrived even before January 
31.  In summary, all the notified violations occurred in 
Italian national waters. The statistics were much simpler 
than the ones filled before 2002, when the Port Captaincies 
used to fill driftnet-only enforcement forms. 
 
Custom Police:  78 inspections with 29 notified violations. 
24 nets (122 km in total) were seized. 
 
Carabinieri:  Unknown number of inspections and violations - 
12 nets (total 31.2 km) were seized and all of them in 
national waters 
 
Port Captaincies:  driftnets violations were notified in the 
usual areas (Sicily, Sardinia and Calabria), and all of them 
in Italian national waters.  The Port Captaincies of Rome, 
Naples, Genoa, Trieste, Livorno, Venice, Ancona, Ravenna, 
and Bari did not report any driftnet violations. 
 
Catania:  Unknown number of inspections and violations - 4 
nets (total 17.4 km) were seized. 
 
Palermo:  Unknown number of inspections and violations - 11 
nets (total 47.5 km) were seized. 
 
Cagliari:  Unknown number of inspections and violations - 18 
nets (total 82 km) were seized. 
 
Reggio Calabria:  Unknown number of inspections and 
 
 
violations - 23 nets (total 59 km) were seized. 
 
4. This cable has been cleared by OES/OMS Stetson Tinkham 
Sembler 
 
 
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	2004ROME01296 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED