His history begins in the mid-80s, when - coming from an environment dedicated to the poaching - he has gained a deep environmental consciousness and began his activity in favour of the environment and against the destructive trawling fishing perpetrated along the Italian coast.
His activity took place over time perpetuating the request of commitment of the Magistracy and of the Authorities in charge to the control of fishery, and repeating the solicitation of policy makers for the adoption of regulation able to really protect the sea bottom and the fish stocks. These actions have been supported by demonstrations and petitions, and the publication of dozens of articles on the local press.
Among the many initiatives it has to be reminded are: the bloc of the harbour of ‘Porto S. Stefano’ (1990) implemented together with Greenpeace, the petition to the Minister (1992), and a series of countless complaints to the authorities, that led to obtain (1994) a first regulation of the bottom trawling. Unfortunately, to obtain the respect of it he had to continually fight. In fact, despite the remarkable sensibility to the problem and the efforts implemented by the Coast Guard, it has never had adequate resources for a continuous control of fishery.
In these long years, Paolo Fanciulli, thanks to having activated - the first in Italy – a fishing-tourism activity since 1992 (seen as environmental education and valorisation of the coastal environment), was able to spread a remarkable sensitivity to the loss of the beauties of our sea with the many tourists and schoolchildren who hosted aboard his fishing boat, creating the prerequisite for the interventions made today.
Within the time he created a movement of public opinion that led the Tuscany Region administration to adopt increasingly position in favour of the protection of the coastline and against the illegal trawling (i.e. within three miles from the coast and in areas with bathymetry lower to 50 metres).
Finally in 2006, just 25 years after the experiments made by the CNR (Italian Research Council) in the sea near the city of Fregene, the Tuscany Region installed an effective deterring system of trawling in the stretch of sea between Porto S. Stefano and the mouth of the Ombrone river (link to A House for the Fishes). For Paolo Fanciulli and for all fishermen and citizens who have followed him this is the first real victory against the environmental criminal… a reason to renew their commitment to achieve a sustainability model of merging human activities and environment protection: goal for which the protection of isolated areas is useless, needing a widespread balanced management of resources.
