On 23rd May 2008, the oceanographic vessel “MarViva Med” began a Mediterranean expedition. The six-month initiative, carried out in collaboration with the MarViva Foundation, will focus on issues related to illegal fishing and the identification of marine areas that need protection for their ecological values.

During the campaign, the team on board the “MarViva Med” will carry out the following tasks:

• Document overfishing and illegal fishing of bluefin tuna, if detected, in different areas of the Mediterranean by French, Italian, Spanish, Libyan and Turkish fleets.
• Verify that the 92 French vessels reported by Oceana in 2007 for using illegal driftnets to catch immature bluefin tuna are no longer using this gear.
• Expose the illegal activity of the 137 Italian driftnetters, now taking shelter almost exclusively in the ports of Sicily and Catania, that continue using these banned nets to catch swordfish.
• Film and photograph the sea bed in areas that should be declared Marine Protected Areas, especially in the Balearic Islands and around Malta, Sicily and Libya, as well as show the impact of bottom trawling nets on marine ecosystems.
• Report the illegal activities of trawlers, mainly Spanish and Italian, in areas where this gear is prohibited or whose catch consists of fish that are under the minimum size standards.
• Verify the situation of the Moroccan driftnetter fleet fishing illegally in the Alboran Sea. The Moroccan government made a commitment to convert this fleet to other types of gear by the end of 2008.