CALABRIA, Italy — “On our coasts there is … a massive presence, that everyone can see, of poachers and illegal fishermen,” a fisher in Calabria, in southwestern Italy, told Mongabay. He said he decided to speak with this team of journalists because increased fishing of declining stocks meant “we are heading toward a point of no return.” But it was not an easy decision: He asked to remain anonymous due to fears of retaliation from other fishers and the local ‘ndrangheta or Calabrian mafia. A dozen other sources would also speak about illegal fishing in the area only off the record. “The situations are visible to all, they are experienced every day just by spending a little time on our coasts,” he said, describing illegal activities happening in plain view, such as fishing in the river mouth or near the coast, and the use of prohibited fishing gear and unregistered amateur boats. In Calabria, the region encompassing the toe of Italy’s boot-shaped peninsula, many fishers slip regularly between legality and illegality, as several sources told Mongabay. Even some fishers who usually work legally sometimes cross the line, and most know at least one illegal fisher, these sources said. In 2022, 13,172 crimes and administrative violations related to fishing activities were detected in Italy, or 36 per day, according to a report by Legambiente, an Italian environmental association. More than 48% of these incidents occurred in the four regions with a traditional mafia presence, including Calabria, the report says. (Italy has 15…This article was originally published on Mongabay