General Information
The figures presented below are being gathered in the course of the Joint Operations HERA 2008 and NAUTILUS 2008.
The main objective of the Joint Operation HERA 2008 is to tackle illegal migration flows coming from West Africa countries heading to Canary Islands.
The main objective of the Joint Operation NAUTILUS 2008 is to reinforce border control activities in Central Mediterranean and control illegal migration flows coming from North Africa countries heading to Malta and in Italy. The figures provided are gathered on a weekly basis and should be treated as raw (primary) data. For this reason, the final statistics may differ from the totals shown here, increasing every week during the course of each operation.
For example, some of the persons that initially are included in the figures related to migrants can later be categorised as facilitators based on investigation results.
Due to the high public interest in these Joint Operations the raw data will be published on Frontex website every Tuesday.
Explanation about the Categories of Statistical Data
The statistics published on this website are described below:
Total Number of Arrivals This category includes persons that have reached the coast of the Member State, in which the Joint Operation takes place, on board of boats departing from Africa.
i. JO HERA 2008 - Spain (Canary Islands);
ii. JO NAUTILUS 2008 - Malta and Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily.
This is a general category covering all arrivals without making a breakdown of sub-categories such as economical migrants.
This category includes both persons that have been intercepted in the Member State’s territory and those intercepted at sea by the assets deployed in the framework of Frontex coordinated Joint Operation.
Migrants Diverted back This category includes data related to Joint Operation HERA 2008 only.
Persons that were intercepted during Joint Operation HERA 2008 at sea who have either been convinced to turn back to safety or have been escorted back to the closest shore (Senegal or Mauritania).
Spain concluded agreements with Mauritania and Senegal which allow diverting of would-be immigrants’ boats back to their points of departure from a certain distance of the African coast line described in the agreements that Spain has between Mauritania and Senegal. A Mauritanian or Senegalese law enforcement officer is always present on board of deployed Member States’ assets and is always responsible for the diversion.
Facilitators Arrested
This category includes the total number of persons that have been arrested by law enforcement authorities with charges of smuggling of human beings or for other similar or related crimes according to the criminal law of a respective country.
Interviews carried out by experts deployed by Frontex This category includes the number of interviews carried out by experts deployed by Frontex.
These experts are sent to the Member States hosting a Joint Operation in order to help interviewing migrants that illegally crossed the border. The interviews aim at gathering information on facilitation networks and details of the journey of migrants that can help improving the effectiveness of the Joint Operation.
The experts do not interview persons that have asked for asylum.