60-year-old Paolo Fanciulli dropped 39 large marble sculptures to the bottom of the sea off Tuscany’s Maremma Regional Park in his war against unsustainable methods of fishing. This is not the first strike he has taken against illegal fishing, but it is his first step into the art world. 

Fanciulli who lives in the village of Talamone practices sustainable fishing and Pesca Turismo or fishing tourism at his home. Paolo and his colleague Francesco fish as their ancestors did, by casting shallow nets that take mullet and bream, ensuring that the bottom reaches are undisturbed. 

He gathered the help of the Tuscan government along with the WWF–Italia for the formation of 126 underwater cement bollards to destroy any deep-sea trawling nets from 2002 to 2006. The bollards would trap the nets used by trawlers that tear up the delicate seabed ecosystem and decapitate the marine food web. Fanciulli knew that the nets were relatively expensive to replace while also understanding that the inexpensive bollards would last longer than the poachers. 

The sculptures have managed to completely stop illegal fishing while also bring in marine biodiversity. Along with his team, Paolo is now looking at extending the project much further along the coastlines to save the sea.