WWF divers recover 100 kilos of clay targets

24 March 2026

 

SIRMIONE – One quintal of clay targets recovered in Sirmione: behind the remains of the old shooting range lies a regulatory paradox that still allows the use of lead ammunition in a lake that Europe considers a wetland.

One quintal of clay targets from the bottom of Lake Garda: the action by WWF divers becomes a denunciation of the illegal use of lead.

On Sunday morning, in the waters off the Monte Baldo parking area in Sirmione, twelve divers—coordinated by WWF Sub and local diving associations—brought to light a piece of forgotten history of Lake Garda.

100 kg of old clay shooting targets recovered

In just three hours of diving, they collected one quintal (100 kg) of old clay targets, hundreds of clay and ceramic discs that had remained on the lakebed for over fifty years.

These are the remnants of an old lakeside shooting range, closed for decades, first identified in 2025 by the underwater robot Zeno from the University of Pisa in collaboration with WWF.

Today, the operation—part of WWF Italy’s national campaign “Adopt Rivers and Lakes” and carried out with the support of the Municipality of Sirmione and Sirmione Servizi—has turned a simple cleanup into a strong and clear message.

It was not just a cleanup of the lakebed. It was a denunciation.

Because those clay targets, seemingly harmless objects, are the symbol of a practice that for decades discharged tons of lead into the lake from shooting ammunition. And the problem is not just in the past.

Since February 15, 2023, EU Regulation 2021/57 has been in force, absolutely banning the use and transport of ammunition containing lead (≥1% concentration) within wetlands and within a 100-meter radius of them. The definition of “wetland” is clear and broad: it includes marshes, swamps, lakes, rivers, and any natural or artificial body of water, permanent or temporary.

Lake Garda, with its characteristics, fully falls into this category according to the Ramsar Convention and European law.

A legal and environmental absurdity

And yet, according to the Italian interpretation, Lake Garda is not considered a wetland. A legal and environmental absurdity that effectively still allows, in certain circumstances, the use of lead ammunition along its shores and waters.

WWF divers, together with diving associations, wanted to highlight precisely this paradox. By recovering historical clay targets, they made visible what too often remains invisible: the chronic non-compliance of a country that, despite being obliged to directly apply the European Regulation (no national law is needed), continues to interpret it restrictively, exposing a unique ecosystem to a persistent neurotoxic pollutant.

Keep on reading the article: https://www.gardapost.it/2026/03/23/garda-i-sub-del-wwf-recuperano-cento-chili-di-piattelli/