Sport and recreational fishing activities

Regulation on sport and recreational fishing activities

(pursuant to art. 26 of M.D. 100 of 28.04.2017)

1. In view of the environmental protection requirements underlying the establishing decree, and supplementing the provisions of Article 26, paragraph 3, of the REO, a ban is hereby introduced on recreational and sport fishing, with any type of gear, of all species of sharks and rays within the Marine Protected Area “Penisola del Sinis – Isola di Mal di Ventre”. The landing of shark and ray specimens is likewise prohibited;
2. “Any accidental catches of sharks and rays must be promptly reported to the Managing Body within 24 hours.
3. Sport and recreational fishing competitions, spearfishing, and the possession and transport of gear used for it are not permitted in the marine protected area, without prejudice to the provisions of the following paragraph 8.
4. Transit within the marine protected area with gear used for spearfishing must be communicated on each occasion to the managing body, according to the methods identified by it.
5. In the marine protected area, fishing of the species listed in the Habitats Directive (92/43/EC in Annexes II, IV, V) is not permitted, including:
   1. Fan mussel (Pinna nobilis (opens in a new window));
   2. Limpet (Patella ferruginea (opens in a new window), Patella rustica (opens in a new window));
   3. Date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga (opens in a new window));
   4. Red Coral (Corallium rubrum (opens in a new window));
   5. Small European locust lobster (Scyllarus arctus (opens in a new window));
   6. Mediterranean slipper lobster (Scyllarides latus (opens in a new window));
   7. Diadem sea urchin (Centrostephanus longispinus (opens in a new window));
   8. Sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus (opens in a new window));
   9. Twaite shad (Alosa fallax (opens in a new window));
   10. Swordfish (Xiphias gladius (opens in a new window));
   11. Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (opens in a new window);
   12. Brown meagre (Sciaena umbra (opens in a new window));
   13. Red spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas (opens in a new window));
   14. European lobster (Homarus gammarus (opens in a new window));
   15. Shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa (opens in a new window));
   16. fishing of all groupers (Epinephelus spp. (opens in a new window), Mycteroperca rubra (opens in a new window), Polyprion americanus (opens in a new window)) is also prohibited.
6. In the marine protected area, the following is not permitted:
   1. the use of the «vertical  jigging» technique, or with similar gear;
   2. deep trolling, with downrigger, with «monel» line and guardian lead;
   3. the use of   non-native baits  (Korean,    Spanish,   Japanese worms, etc.) and non-Mediterranean species;
   4. the use of “maggots”, both as bait and as ground bait;
   5. the use of   light sources   and    with  chumming  procedures;
   6. the use of longlines, single-line longlines, pots,    floats,  bag nets or balance nets, harpoons;
   7. drifting with bottom anchoring;
   8. the use of electric fishing systems, such as bolentino winch and downrigger.
7. Sport and recreational fishing is not permitted in Zones A.
8. In Zones B, sport and recreational fishing is permitted, subject to authorisation by the managing body, to residents of the municipality of Cabras with the gear and methods indicated below:
   1. during the periods and times identified by the managing body;
   2. for shore fishing, a maximum cumulative daily catch of up to 2 (two) kg per fisherman, except in the case of a single specimen of greater weight;
   3. for fishing from recreational craft, a maximum cumulative daily catch of up to 2 (two) kg per fisherman and up to a maximum of 4 (four) kg per boat, except in the case of a single specimen of greater weight;
   4. from the shore, each person may use one rod or line with a maximum of 2 (two) hooks; alternatively, use a single artificial bait, fitted with one or two treble hooks, or with a double hook or a single hook;
   5. from recreational craft, each person may use one rod or line with a maximum of 2 (two) hooks per tool; alternatively, use a single artificial bait, fitted with one or two treble hooks, or with a double hook or a single hook; on the boat, overall, a maximum of 2 (two) rods or lines may be used;
   6. fishing from recreational craft from dawn to sunset;
   7. fishing by minors under 12 years only if accompanied by an adult with a regular authorisation.
9. In Zone C, sport and recreational fishing is permitted, subject to authorisation by the managing body, with the gear and methods indicated below:
   1. during the periods and times identified by the managing body;
   2. for shore fishing, a maximum cumulative daily catch of up to 3 (three) kg per fisherman, except in the case of a single specimen of greater weight;
   3. for fishing from recreational craft, a maximum cumulative daily catch of up to 3 (three) kg per fisherman and up to a maximum of 5 (five) kg per boat, except in the case of a single specimen of greater weight;
   4. from the shore, for each person, the use of a maximum of 2 (two) rods or lines with a maximum of 2 (two) hooks per tool or 4 (four) rods or lines with 1 hook per tool; alternatively, for each rod or line, the use of a single artificial bait, fitted with one or two treble hooks, or with a double hook or a single hook;
   5. per fisherman, occupy a maximum of 30 linear metres of shore;
   6. from recreational craft, each person may use a maximum of 2
   7. (two) rods or lines with a maximum of 2 (two) hooks per tool or 3 (three) rods or lines with 1 (one) hook per tool; alternatively, use for each rod or line a single artificial bait, fitted with one or two treble hooks, or with a double hook or a single hook; on the boat overall the use of a maximum of 3 (three) rods or lines;
   8. fishing from recreational craft is permitted from dawn to sunset;
   9. minors under 12 may fish only if accompanied by an adult with a regular authorisation.
10. In Zone C shore sport fishing competitions are permitted, subject to authorisation by the managing body, with a maximum of 2 (two) rods or lines from shore, with no more than two hooks, for a maximum of 2 (two) events per year.
11. Access and transit of recreational craft in the marine protected area with sport and recreational fishing gear different from or with catch quantities exceeding the limits established by this regulation must be communicated on each occasion to the managing body, according to the methods identified by it.
12. For the purpose of issuing the authorisation, with a maximum annual validity, for sport and recreational fishing activities in the marine protected area, applicants must:
    1. complete the procedure to obtain the sport and recreational fishing permit card on the website of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies (opens in a new window);
    2. indicate the fishing tools that they intend to use;
    3. pay the managing body a fee as a secretarial charge, according to the methods indicated in the following art. 35;
    4. provide the managing body with a formal declaration of acknowledgement of the updating decree of the marine protected area, of the regulation and of the present regulation and of any annual provisional regulations;
    5. submit documentation certifying the requirements referred to in art. 18, and the documentation relating to the support recreational craft to be authorised, for the purpose of precisely identifying its technical characteristics, and compliance with the administrative obligations of the law.
13. The issue of the authorisation for sport and recreational fishing entails the obligation to:
    1. display the authorisation markings issued by the managing body, during the carrying out of sport fishing and to be displayed on the authorised recreational craft;
    2. show the authorisation in the event of checks by the bodies in charge of surveillance;
    3. record, on a specific register validated by the managing body and issued together with the authorisation, the following information:
       1. date, hours of fishing, gear used, fishing areas, catches made (total number of specimens caught, number of specimens per each species caught, dimensions of each specimen);
       2. the register must be constantly updated, produced on request by the bodies in charge of surveillance and returned to the managing body at the expiry of the authorisation duly completed, for the purposes of monitoring the fish stocks of the marine protected area. In the absence of delivery of the duly completed booklet, it will not be possible to request the authorisation for sport and recreational fishing for the following year.
14. In order to ensure safety, sport and recreational fishing is prohibited in the zones intended for mooring nautical craft and within a radius of 150 metres around the marker buoys of the dive sites, and the marker buoys of Zones A.
15. In relation to the environmental protection needs underlying the founding decree, the managing body reserves the right, following the monitoring carried out to verify the harvesting activities, to adapt, by subsequent measures after consulting the Reserve Commission, and with prior approval by the Ministry, the regulation of sport and recreational fishing activities.
16. It is forbidden to sell or transfer, under any title, the catch to restaurants or commercial establishments, under penalty of withdrawal of the authorisation for three years, in addition to the sanctions provided for by art. 39 of this regulation and by other regulations in force.
17. Recreational craft supporting sport and recreational fishing must comply with the provisions of articles 18, 19, 20, respectively on recreational navigation, mooring and anchoring.
18. The authorisations issued to the applicant parties and to the recreational craft supporting sport and recreational fishing are personal and individual, not transferable to third parties, as are the authorisation markings issued.