The UN refugee agency says not enough is being done to save the lives of the increased numbers of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
A UNHCR spokesman told the BBC around 400 migrants were still missing after their boat capsized off Libya.
Libya's coastguard says it expects more attempted crossings later this week.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have made the perilous crossing in recent years, fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East.
Hundreds more migrants rescued from boats in the Mediterranean are due to arrive in Sicily during the day.
Almost 10,000 migrants have been picked up in recent days, and more boats are heading for the Italian coast.
Italy's interior ministry has instructed officials throughout the country to be prepared to house the new arrivals, many of whom are children.
UN officials say well over 500 people have died since the start of the year, 30 times more than in the same period last year.
Over 280,000 people entered the EU illegally last year, many fleeing conflict in Syria and repression in Eritrea.
The Italian coast guard rescued 144 people from the capsized boat on Monday and launched an air and sea search operation in hopes of saving others.
Nine bodies have already been recovered, but no more survivors have been found since then.
Migrants in Libyan jail
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville is at a detention centre for would-be migrants in Misrata, Libya - among them this 14-year-old from Eritrea (below). "Is this a jail? Are we refugees?" some of the migrants ask. They say they have been held there for seven months.
Clear skies spell death for migrants
Last year, 170,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean to Italy and as many as 3,500 died while making the journey, officials say.
The Italian government's maritime rescue operation was scaled back, amid concerns that it was encouraging migrant crossings, and a more limited EU border security operation took over.
However, the latest numbers show that the EU's policy of deterring people is not working, the BBC's James Reynolds in Sicily reports.
Shots fired
Meanwhile the EU's Frontex border agency said that people smugglers had fired shots into the air to warn away another coast guard vessel rescuing migrants.
The incident on Monday happened about 60 nautical miles off Libya after an Italian vessel and an Icelandic coast guard ship had rescued most of the 250 migrants on a tugboat.
Frontex says the incident shows that traffickers are running out of boats.
EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told the European Parliament: "The unprecedented influx of migrants at our borders, and in particular refugees, is unfortunately the new norm and we will need to adjust our responses accordingly."
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been without a stable government allowing trafficking networks to thrive.
On Friday, humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres announced it would operate a search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean between May and October.
Are you in the area? Are you affected by the issues in this story? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
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