Poaching group dismantled in the Tabarca reserve with 300 kilos of fish

A group of four men who were illegally fishing in the Tabarca Island marine reserve were apprehended in Cartagena, along with about 300 kilogrammes of fish. As part of Operation “Luz y Sombra,” the Murcian Guardia Civil dismantled the network after apprehending approximately 300 kilos of fish, including grouper, pollock, sea bream, king sea bream, octopus, and croaker, as well as the boat and fishing gear used in the criminal activity, at the Los Nietos marina in Cartagena.

The operation began a few weeks ago, when the Integrated External Surveillance System (SIVE) notified Guardia Civil personnel from the Fiscal and Border Patrol of the presence of a boat from the Tabarca integral reserve on the Murcia coast and in the Mar Menor.

The Guardia Civil closely monitored the yacht until it landed at the Los Nietos Yacht Club. Guardia Civil officials from the Fiscal and Border Patrol apprehended three members of the boat’s crew who were transporting a big amount of fish, as well as another individual who was assisting the former.

The Guardia Civil officials seized the boat, the equipment and materials used in the alleged illicit operation, as well as the fish discovered on board. The Region of Murcia’s Fisheries Service assisted in the fish survey, identifying all species and compiling a report that analysed the damage to the Tabarca Integrated Reserve.

The investigation was led by specialists from the Benemérita’s Investigation Team of the Nature Protection Service (Seprona), who arrested the four suspects as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of belonging to a criminal group and violating flora and fauna after gathering all necessary evidence. According to Civil Guard sources, distributing illegally captured fish for food without the necessary health standards poses a significant public health risk.

They also noted that marine reserves of interest for fishing are intended to increase breeding stock, so poaching represents “a serious imbalance” in natural ecosystems, eliminates life generation within them, and limits reproduction and the incorporation of recruits into the population, all of which contribute to the creation of the “reserve effect.”