An estimated 2,420 migrants and refugees died or have gone missing trying to reach Europe by sea thus far in 2017, according to statistics made available by the UNHCR, while 121,735 migrants and refugees reached European shores by sea landing in Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

Speaking with The Malta Independent, the MOAS press office said that the NGO noted a decrease in the number of migrant boats at sea. The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) is a Malta-based NGO that rescues people at sea.

“This summer started out as it always has in the past few years, but we saw a decrease recently due to situation on the ground in Libya.”

An article by Reuters recently attributed a decrease in departures over the past months to an armed group that is stopping migrant boats from setting off across the sea from a city west of Tripoli, that was used by human smugglers.

Reuters quoted sources which said that the new group in the city of Sabratha is preventing migrants from leaving “often by locking them up.” The article read that the group is running a detention centre for migrants who are turned back or taken from smugglers.

The article however, indicated that such a situation might not stick, and MOAS co-founder Chris Catrambone told the news agency that three large rubber boats set out from the east of the country, he said, while only a small boat was found west of Tripoli.

Smugglers have adapted their routes in the past.

The UNHCR report read that the first six months of 2017 saw an increase in the number of refugees and migrants entering Europe via the Central Mediterranean route to Italy, with 83,752 arrivals. However, due to lower arrival levels in July, numbers have remained at a similar level to last year.

“Refugees and migrants continue to face grave dangers during their journeys to Europe as well as while travelling through Europe. In recent months, refugees and migrants arriving in Italy have described surviving the deadly desert crossing from Niger, kidnappings, torture and detention in Libya, and the dangerous sea journey, in which 2,171 people are estimated to have already died this year (as at June not August) along that route compared to 2,470 in the same period last year,” the report read. The numbers of refugees and migrants entering through Spain however, has increased.

The MOAS press office told this newsroom that the way to save more lives at sea is to introduce new legal humanitarian routes as alternatives to braving the sea route for people seeking asylum. “People desperate enough will not be stopped by putting up walls.”

Asked what MOAS believes needs to be done to prevent further loss of life in the Mediterranean, the MOAS press office said that the EU needs to give Italy more support. The office explained that Frontex’ mandate is border control, adding that the NGOs’ mandates are search and rescue. The office spoke of the need of an operation similar to Italy’s former Mare Nostrum, with a mandate aimed at saving lives at sea.

UNHCR states that of the 121,734 migrants and refugee arrivals as at 22 August, 71.2% were men, 16.6% were children and 12.2% were women. Other statistics from the agency show that between 1 January and 31 July 2017, 95,200 refugees and migrants had arrived in Italy by sea, including 12,700 unaccompanied and separated children. This shows that Italy is, by far, the main country seeing migrant and refugee arrivals by sea.

The most common countries of origin of refugees and migrants, according to the UNHCR, are: Nigeria, Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Syrian Arab Republic.