During the surveillance journey of the Maritime Detachment of Fuerteventura, of the Civil Guard, illegal fishing pots and nets were seized, which were anchored between the Island of La Graciosa and the Bay of Famara, set in the prohibited area of the Natural Park of "Archipiélago Chinijo". The large dimensions of the seized pots are particularly striking, as well as the fact that it is the first time in the area that two complete gillnets have been seized, which are especially harmful to cetaceans and different protected marine species in the area.
The management plan prohibits the use of these gears in said area. In addition, several more infractions were observed in the aforementioned area, such as the lack of signage or the use of bait inside them.
Numerous material seized
Among the seized material were 10 trap gears, fish pots of different sizes, several of them 5 meters in diameter, 2 gillnets, approximately 2,500 meters in total length and 10 kilos of various dead fish trapped inside the pots and nets, which was delivered to the charity center "Hijas de la Caridad La Milagrosa" of Corralejo-La Oliva, the live ones being returned to the sea.
This action was carried out in response to an initial request from the boat "César Manrique", belonging to the Fisheries Inspection Service of the Natural Park "Archipiélago Chinijo", as it had detected an illegal gear and lacked the necessary means to lift it on board.
The Chinijo Archipelago Natural Park is located in the northern sector of the island of Lanzarote, including the island of La Graciosa, the islets of Alegranza and Montaña Clara, the Roque del Infierno and the Roque del Este, as well as the marine area between the islets and the north coast of Lanzarote.