6. International Agreements 



Italy began fishing off the coasts of many 

 African nations before it became a member of the EC 

 and before the EC received permission to negotiate 

 international fishery treaties on behalf of member 

 states. The EC has since initiated bilateral agreements 

 with almost all of the countries where Italian vessels 

 once fished. Italian fishing vessels first began fishing 

 off the United States in 1972, for example, where it 

 reportedly caught an average of 16,000 tons of squid 

 annually.'* Nineteen Italian vessels were licensed to 

 fish in U.S. waters in 1977 following the extension of 

 U.S. waters to 200-miles (see table below). Italian 

 vessels were also fishing for squid and cod off the 

 coast of Canada and were allowed to fish for hake off 

 the Namibian coast." The agreement with the United 

 States, like those of other countries, was replaced by 

 an agreement with the European Community once 

 that body was given permission to negotiate 

 international fishery agreements by its member states. 

 The Americanization of United States fisheries 

 gradually led to the phase-out of Italian fishing in 

 U.S. waters on January 1, 1987. Although the EC 

 has replaced Italy as the competent authority for 

 negotiating international agreements, Italian fishermen 

 were permitted to continue privately fishing initiatives 

 with Sierra Leone (4 vessels), Nigeria (4 vessels), 

 and Somalia (2 vessels) as late as 1983.™ Italy's 

 bilateral fisheries agreement with Yugoslavia was 

 extended for 6 months in 1978, but was later 

 terminated.'' 



Italian high-seas vessels reportedly caught 65,900 

 tons in distant-waters in 1991 (Table 3). The 

 majority of this catch was in the Central Eastern 

 Atlantic region of West Africa where EC agreements 

 allow Italian vessels to fish under license. A smaller 

 quantity (less than 10,000 tons) was harvested in the 

 Southwestern Atlantic Ocean around the Falkland 

 Islands (see appendix 29-31). Finally, the Italian 

 fleet caught 16,500 tons in the Western Indian Ocean; 

 this was not, however, tuna. The Italians did, 

 however, briefly fish for southern bluefin tuna 

 {Thunnus maccoyii) in the Western Indian Ocean in 

 1987-90 with a total catch of 707 tons for the entire 

 4 years. ^^ The Italian catch in the Indian Ocean in 

 1991 consisted of a variety of different marine fish 

 and shellfish suggesting the operation of a fleet of 

 small vessels." The authors have no information 

 about Italy's fisheries in the Indian Ocean. Somali 



sources, however, recently reported that "pirate 

 trawlers" from Italy and other countries are illegally 

 fishing at night for lobster, crab, and tuna in Somali 

 waters. No documentation exists for this claim made 

 by Mohamed Abshir Muse of the Somali Salvation 

 Democratic Front.-" 



7. Fleet Dispersal Plans'' 



The Italian 1992 high-seas fleet of 27 vessels will 

 doubtlessly continue to decline by 1-4 vessels per 

 year for the next few years pending some unforeseen 

 development. These ships will be sold to third 

 parties and probably will not be replaced. The 

 authors do not anticipate a sudden shift in Italy's 

 high-seas fleet from their current fishing grounds off 

 West Africa. 



Consumption of tuna has increased in Italy in 

 recent years^* and it is possible that Italian fish 

 processing firms might be interested in establishing a 

 high-seas tuna fishing venture similar to those 

 operated by Spain and Italy. Italy, as an EC 

 member, is eligible for allocations of tuna off West 

 Africa or in the Indian Ocean. Italian fishermen have 

 experience fishing for tuna off West Africa and it 

 would be fairly easy for them to begin fishing tuna. 



SOURCES 



"Campbell launches first tuna seiner for Italy," 

 News Release, Campbell Shipyard, San Diego. 



DiPalma, Salvatore. U.S. Regional Fisheries 

 Attache in Copenhagen, Denmark to William L. 

 Sullivan, Jr., February 13, 1975. 



Eurofish Report, various issues. 



FAO, Yearbook of Fishery Statistics - Catches and 

 landings. 1991, Vol. 72, United Nations, Rome, 

 Italy, 1993. 



Fishing News International, various issues. 



Ill 



