La tutela del patrimonio archeologico in acque profonde

At great depths, on the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea, there is an immense submerged archaeological heritage to be discovered, studied and protected. Protected from the waters for over 2000 years, today it risks being destroyed forever by the impact of trawling. Extensive fishing damage is often documented by sonar and multi-beam side-scan investigations and, today, new instruments as ROV allow very deep investigations on numerous shipwrecks. The depth at which they are located does not guarantee their protection. In fact, almost all the wrecks explored have a common trait: they are at risk of disappearing due to the serious damage caused by the passage of trawling nets. In the central-northern part of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Ligurian Sea, there are over 40 deep wrecks identified, since 2002, by Guido Gay of the Fondazione Azionemare and thanks to its discovery, the Capitaneria di Porto of La Spezia in Liguria and PortoTorres in Sardegna, were able to create some forbidden area to the trawling boat 0,6 miles around the site. A satellite surveillance system in the Coast Guard control room ensures that the rules are enforced. For the first time in Italy an effective system for the protection of the submerged archaeological heritage has been created, an example of what should be done for all reported wrecks. However, there are still many wrecks at the mercy of fishing activities that risk being destroyed.