Goal 14: Life below water

During the 2007-2022 period, the majority of the assessed fish stocks are in a state of overexploitation: the fishing-induced mortality is higher than that necessary for a sustainable exploitation of the resources in the long term under average environmental conditions.

In the 2020-2022 triennium, the lowest values in the historical series were recorded, with approximately 60% of stocks classified as overexploited, indicating a relative improvement.

This indicator, based on internationally validated analytical stock assessments, reflects the overall trend in the exploitation status of commercially fished stocks, highlighting the condition of harvested resources. The indicator is also associated with the percentage coverage of landed fish stocks for which stock assessments are available. The analysis is conducted at both the national and subregional levels, following the geographic division defined by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The indicator estimates the size of national aquaculture in terms of the number of active facilities and production volumes, as well as production trends in relation to the objectives set in the Strategic Aquaculture Plan 2014-2020 and the Operational Program of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF OP) 2014-2020.

In 2020, Veneto remained the leading region in Italy in terms of the number of facilities (26%), while Emilia-Romagna was the largest producer by volume (26%). Five regions (Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Puglia, and Sardinia) host 71% of Italy’s aquaculture facilities. Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Friuli are confirmed the main producers, and together with Marche and Tuscany, they account for 69% of national production.

Most coastal regions, depend on marine aquaculture, with facilities located in transitional, coastal, and marine environments.

The year 2020 was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic: the Italian aquaculture production was 122,760 tons, of which 61% were bivalve shellfish and 39% were fish. Crustacean farming remains a minor sector, with a production of only 0.5 tons. Alien species account for 49% of national production. Due to the production decline recorded in 2020, overall aquaculture production between 2013 and 2020 decreased by 13%, failing to meet the growth projections set by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF).

The indicator provides an estimate of the input and removal of nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal environments where aquaculture activities take place. Specifically, fish farming contributes to the release of these nutrients, while mussel farming facilitates their removal.

The balance between the nutrient input from farmed fish and the nutrient removal by bivalve shellfish allows for a regional-level assessment of the net quantitative contribution of aquaculture to trophic processes along the Italian coastline.

At the national level, in 2020, estimates of the nitrogen and phosphorus balance from intensive fish farming and mussel farming showed a reduction compared to 2019. This decrease was due to:

• A decline in nutrient input resulting from lower fish production

• A decrease in nutrient removal due to the reduction in mussel production

  At the regional level, in Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo, Molise, and Marche, the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by mussels exceeded the input from farmed fish.

The quality of bathing waters is fundamental for safeguarding citizens' health and also plays an important role from the perspective of protecting the natural environment and in terms of economic aspects in the tourism sector. For this reason, specific monitoring is carried out throughout the entire bathing season.
For the 2023 bathing season, more than 31,000 samples of sea and lake water were collected and analyzed over a total of more than 5,000 km of coastline designated for bathing.
At the municipal level, the kilometers of coastline are divided into more or less extensive bathing waters, for a total of 5,490 bathing waters.
The results of the analyses, in addition to ensuring the absence of health and hygiene risks during the season, also made it possible to classify the waters.
The classification was made using the monitoring results from the 2023 bathing season and those of the previous three seasons (2022-2021-2020).
At the national level, most of the waters fall into the excellent class (90.6%), however, critical issues still persist due to the presence of waters in the poor class (1.3%) and not classifiable (0.5%), for which it is not possible to express a quality judgment.
Also at the regional level, the percentage of waters in the excellent class is the highest and in some cases equals 100%.
In almost all regions, the waters in the sufficient and poor classes are decreasing, but the presence of the latter still prevents the full achievement of the directive’s objective.

Coastal marine waters are “surface waters located inside an imaginary line, every point of which is one nautical mile seaward from the nearest point of the baseline used to determine the limit of territorial waters, and which may extend up to the outer limit of transitional waters” (Paragraph 1 of Article 74 of Legislative Decree 152/2006). The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates the achievement of a “good” status of water bodies (chemical + ecological) by the dates set by current legislation; failure to achieve environmental objectives results in the implementation of remediation measures. Based on the analysis of data reported by the Districts in the 3rd Reporting to the European Commission for the 2016–2021 six-year period (3rd RBMP), the chemical status of Italian coastal marine waters appears heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is evident both in terms of the number of water bodies identified per district and their classification. The Eastern Alps and Po River Districts have all water bodies in a “not good” chemical status, while in Sicily and the Southern Apennines District, over 60% of the water bodies are in a “not good” status. The Northern Apennines, Central Apennines, and Sardinia Districts, instead, register more than 50%, more than 90%, and more than 80%, respectively, in a “good” chemical status. At the national level, 51% of coastal marine water bodies are in good chemical status. Comparing the 2nd and 3rd RBMPs, in the 2nd RBMP, water bodies with unknown chemical status amounted to 26% (147 out of 561), whereas in the 3rd RBMP, only one water body has an unknown status. Generally, water bodies in good chemical status are comparable between the two RBMPs—52% and 51%, respectively—while water bodies in not good chemical status increased in the 3rd RBMP (49%).

Coastal marine waters are defined as “surface waters situated inside an imaginary line one nautical mile away, at every point, on the outer side from the nearest point of the baseline used to define the territorial sea limit, and potentially extending to the outer boundary of transitional waters.” The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates achieving "good" status (ecological + chemical) for water bodies by the deadlines set by current regulations; failure to meet environmental goals entails remediation measures. Based on the analysis of data reported by Districts in the 3rd Reporting to the European Commission for the six-year period 2016–2021 (3rd WMP), the ecological status of Italian coastal marine waters is heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is expressed in both the number of water bodies identified per district and their ecological classification. The Eastern Alps, Northern Apennines, Central Apennines, Sicily, and Sardinia Districts show a percentage of water bodies in good and high ecological status greater than or equal to 70%. Specifically, in the Sardinia District, more than 40% of water bodies are in high status. Nationally, more than 60% of water bodies (261 out of 394 total) are in good and high ecological status. Comparing data from the 2nd WMP and the 3rd WMP shows that in the 2nd WMP, 27% of water bodies had unknown ecological status (149 out of 561 total), while in the 3rd WMP, only one water body is in unknown ecological status. In general terms, the proportion of water bodies in good and high ecological status increased from 55% in the 2nd WMP to 66% in the 3rd WMP.

The Marine Strategy (Directive 2008/56/EC) represents an important governance tool for the marine system, promoting the adoption of strategies aimed at safeguarding the marine ecosystem to achieve Good Environmental Status. Good Environmental Status is assessed based on 11 themes or qualitative descriptors, and among these, Descriptor 10 requires that the properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm to the coastal and marine environment. Since 2015, Italy has been implementing an extensive monitoring program for marine litter, including beach litter. In 2023, the median of total marine litter stranded on Italian shores was 250 items per 100 m, the lowest value in the entire historical series. However, this is still a density significantly higher than the threshold value of 20 items per 100 m, established at the European level as a requirement for achieving Good Environmental Status. As in previous years, single-use plastics are the most common type of beach litter, representing 13% of the total; however, for this type of litter, there is a sharp decline compared to 2022 (29%), which, if confirmed in the coming years, could represent a significant first result of the effectiveness of the Marine Strategy Measures Program and, in particular, the application of Directive 2019/904 for the reduction of single-use plastics.

Any solid material, manufactured or processed by humans, abandoned or lost in the marine and coastal environment or that reaches the sea in any way is defined as marine litter. Italy, with Legislative Decree No. 190/2010 transposing the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, has been conducting an intensive marine litter monitoring program since 2015, including beach litter. Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the coastal Regional Environmental Protection Agencies (ARPA) carry out monitoring of solid waste present in sample areas of 69 reference beaches along the national coastline. To assess the cleanliness of the beaches based on the density of litter present in the monitored sample areas, the Clean Coast Index (CCI) was calculated, an indicator developed and applied internationally.

In 2023, the CCI was calculated for 69 beaches both in spring and autumn. In spring, 80% of the monitored beaches were clean or very clean compared to 12% of dirty or very dirty beaches. In autumn, 77% of the beaches were clean or very clean, while 12% were dirty or very dirty. The rest of the beaches were fairly clean. Compared to the previous year, the percentage of clean or very clean beaches increased in autumn (75% in 2022), while in spring it remained the same.

Italy, in application of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, has implemented an extensive marine litter monitoring program since 2015, including micro-litter present in the surface layer of the water column. This monitoring is conducted by the National System for Environmental Protection (of which ISPRA is a part), under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE). The composition, quantity, and distribution of surface micro-litter are essential parameters for achieving the good environmental status of marine waters, the objective of the Directive. Micro-litter are particles smaller than 5 mm, whose origin is difficult to identify once dispersed in the environment. These particles derive from both primary sources, such as pellets and microbeads used in cosmetics or abrasive products, and secondary sources, such as the fragmentation of macro-litter. With the data processing carried out from 2016 to 2022, it was possible to define a median density value of micro-particles present in our seas, equal to 0.04 micro-particles per m², or 40,000 micro-particles per km². This value is confirmed by adding the 2023 data to the series. At the Mediterranean level, the Barcelona Convention has set a threshold value of 0.000845 micro-particles per m² (845 micro-particles per km²), therefore, compared to this value, Italy is still far from achieving good environmental status.

During the period considered (2007-2022), the average exploitation rate of fish stocks (i.e., the mean ratio between current fishing mortality and the mortality associated with the Maximum Sustainable Yield; Fcurr/FMSY) exceeded the sustainability threshold. The indicator, estimated on internationally validated analytical stock assessments, highlights the overall trend in the exploitation rate of commercially fished stocks, providing insight into the quantitative trends in fishing pressure.

A peak in the average exploitation rate was observed in 2012 and 2013, with values exceeding 3, followed by a declining trend, reaching its lowest point in 2022 (average value of 1.12). The analysis is conducted at the National level and by Sub-Region, following the geographical scale defined by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; 2008/56/EC).

Eutrophication is a process caused by the enrichment of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, which leads to an increase in primary production and algal biomass, resulting in the alteration of benthic communities and, in general, a decline in water quality. The input of nitrogen and phosphorus into the marine and coastal environment can originate from diffuse sources (river loads, major collectors of agricultural activity, and urban discharges) and point sources (discharges from wastewater treatment plants, industrial activities, and aquaculture operations). Objectives related to eutrophication control and management are set by the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC), the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Descriptor 5, Directive 2008/56/EC), and the Nitrates Directive (Directive 91/676/EEC) and Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Directive 91/271/EEC), which are particularly focused on pressure management. The causes of eutrophication are primarily linked to nutrient inputs carried into the sea by rivers or coastal settlements, which cause serious negative impacts on the health of marine ecosystems and the sustainable use of goods and services. The main sources of nutrients are related to the agri-livestock and urban sectors.

Environmental assessments regarding eutrophication, in accordance with the requirements of Directive 2008/56/EC, have highlighted the achievement of Good Environmental Status. Therefore, the measures adopted so far under Directive 2000/60/EC, Directive 91/676/EEC, and Directive 91/271/EEC have proven effective in achieving environmental targets.