14 DAY TRIAL // Environmental group Sea Shepherd might be best known for its campaigns against whale hunts carried out by the Japanese whaling fleet, but this does not mean that the organization is not very much preoccupied with the wellbeing of other marine dwellers as well.
On the contrary, the Sea Shepherd has recently launched a new anti-poaching campaign in Italy, and is pleased to say that, until now, this initiative has proven most successful.
In fact, it was this past May 23 when the organization announced that, together with authorities in Italy, it had recently come to the rescue of as many as 500 sea urchins that had been captured by poachers operating in this country.
This incident follows the organization's helping catch a group of people who were illegally fishing in Italy's Plemmirio Marine Reserve and thus threatening to destroy the balance of ecosystems in this region.
The group details that the sea urchins it helped save had been illegally removed from the Marine Reserve of the Parco del Plemmirio by poachers, and that their combined weight amounted to 500 kilograms (about 1,100 pounds).
“Three days after launching Operation Siracusa, Sea Shepherd Global’s first campaign in Italy, Sea Shepherd has halted a second poaching operation while patrolling the Marine Reserve of the Parco del Plemmirio in cooperation with local authorities.”
“The Guardia di Finanza, the Italian Financial Police, intervened and seized 50 kilograms of live sea urchins – approximately 500 animals,” Sea Shepherd writes on its website.
Once rescued, the sea urchins, which appeared to be unharmed, were allowed to return to the sea. The poachers, on the other hand, were made to pay a fine of $8,000 (approximately €6,000). Besides, the equipment that they used to catch the marine creatures was confiscated.
Commenting on the group's ongoing anti-poaching campaign in Italian waters, Captain Peter Hammarstedt said, “Just three days into the campaign, Sea Shepherd has already blocked two poaching operations in the Parco del Plemmirio.”
“The success of this anti-poaching campaign is made possible by the passion of our volunteers and by the excellent cooperation with the Guardia di Finanza, aimed at protecting marine wildlife in a protected reserve,” the conservationist added.
For those who are not familiar with marine biodiversity, sea urchins are fairly small animals that sport spines on their body, hence the fact that they are sometimes referred to as sea hedgehogs. They usually feed on algae, and their eggs are considered to be a delicacy.