Operation Siso is an ongoing conservation initiative launched in 2018 by Sea Shepherd Italy to combat illegal fishing in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea around the Aeolian Islands and off the coast of Calabria, sea-shepherd.de reported.
Physical Entrapment Risks from FADs Explained
- Entanglement Hazards: Abandoned fishing gear, particularly Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), create severe physical entrapment risks for marine megafauna, including sea turtles and cetaceans.
- Plastic Pollution Vector: FADs are composed of persistent synthetic materials like floating plastic canisters, directly contributing to marine microplastic breakdown and subsequent aquatic toxicity.
- Indiscriminate Harvesting: These artificial structures concentrate and aggregate marine life indiscriminately, disrupting local biodiversity regardless of species or developmental stage.
Operations in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea
Working in close coordination with the Italian Coast Guard—the Guardia Costiera—and the Guardia di Finanza, volunteers remove illegal and derelict fishing gear from marine environments, sea-shepherd.de reported. The targeted equipment includes abandoned set nets, longlines, and marker buoys. The initiative specifically centers on the waters surrounding the Aeolian archipelago and the Calabrian coastline, addressing gear that poses persistent ecological and physical hazards.
The Ecological Mechanics of Fish Aggregating Devices
Central to the operational focus of Operation Siso are Fish Aggregating Devices, commonly known as FADs, sea-shepherd.de reported. The shadow cast by the structure attracts pelagic fish species, which gather underneath and are subsequently harvested en masse without selectivity regarding species, size, or maturity.
When these devices are lost or deliberately abandoned, they become primary drivers of marine plastic pollution, sea-shepherd.de reported. The extensive tethering lines pose a deadly threat to marine turtles and other vulnerable marine life. Estimates indicate that approximately 60,000 FADs are deployed annually in the Mediterranean Sea, with 76 percent of them never recovered by operators. Between 1961 and 2017, an estimated 1.6 million FADs were left behind in the marine environment, with a vast proportion remaining settled on the seabed.
| Metric | Data Point |
|---|---|
| Operational Launch Year | 2018 |
| Geographic Focus | Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Aeolian Islands, Calabria |
| Partner Agencies | Italian Coast Guard, Guardia di Finanza |
| Annual Mediterranean FAD Deployment | ~60,000 units |
| Unrecovered FAD Rate | 76 percent |
Etymology and Memorialization of Siso
The campaign derives its name from a young sperm whale known as Siso, sea-shepherd.de reported. In 2017, the juvenile whale became entangled in an illegal driftnet off the coast of the Aeolian Islands and subsequently died. Today, the complete skeletal remains of Siso are preserved and exhibited at the MuMa Museum of the Sea in Milazzo, Sicily, serving as a permanent anatomical record of the impacts of unregulated fishing gear.
Sources Cited in the Article
- Sea Shepherd Italy. “Operation Siso.” Operational overview and campaign history.
- MuMa Museum of the Sea, Milazzo, Sicily. Permanent exhibition of the sperm whale Siso.
