the picture you see here show a special spot (QUERCIANELLA, 12 KM South of
Livorno, Italy) where artificial reefs, an underwater preserve, fishing
moratory would likely produce remarkable effects.
It is a difficult goal because of the local mentality, prone to
overfishing, catching anything before the other fisherman catches it.
This area has a red coral bank where I found my first small branch at a
depth of just 16 m. about 55 years ago, when the first scuba equipment
(Drager, then CousteauGagnan) became available. My father, an airforce
pilot, started skindiving before WW2 and I learned lots from him, until I
decided to STOP spearfishing in 1958: I did not want overfishing. We also
soon stopped diving for coral, which is found as far down as 55-60 meters,
but unfortunately many people continued.
Today I hear from a local diving school there is still some coral, small
branches in cavities. This rocky bottom has a long vertical wall, extending
for about a mile from the depth of 20 m. to about 35 m. , encrusted with
madreporic coral full of holes and cavities that were once full of lobster,
moray eels and rich marine life as you can imagine in a vertical wall.
