Mitigating the negative interactions of protected species with marine litter and pelagic fisheries of the Mediterranean

Introduction

Marine litter adrift and lost fishing gear (ALDFG, or ghost fishing) has become one of the main risks for pelagic species such as the loggerhead (Caretta caretta). Priority species in Annex II of the Habitats Directive, loggerheads are an indicator species for the EU's Marine Strategy Framework Directive, exposing trends in risks such as climate change, bycatch, or marine litter (A-1 2008/56/EC, MSFD).

Habitat Importance

The Western and Central Mediterranean are critical foraging and migration habitats for three populations of loggerheads. However, this region is now also becoming a bottleneck for their recovery. ALDFG adrift and turtles alike are highly mobile, which means that management and prevention of the ALDFG risk requires a basin-wide concerted effort.

Networking and Collaboration

Over the last few years, LIFE has facilitated the networking of relevant authorities and turtle experts from research institutions, stranding networks, and recovery centres. LIFE OASIS builds on this foundation with a stakeholder engagement and marine stewardship initiative aimed at addressing the tasks of ALDFG retrieval and the rescue of entangled turtles by fishers and navigators.

Focus on Fisheries

LIFE OASIS focuses on the improvement of an ancestral anchored fish aggregating device (aFAD) fishery that operates in the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Tunisia, and Malta. This fishery currently causes over 70% of sea turtle entanglement in ALDFG.

Sustainable Management Scheme

LIFE OASIS will work with fisheries to develop a replicable sustainable aFAD management scheme that includes intelligent aFAD prototypes. These prototypes will mitigate the risk of sea turtle bycatch and offer novel technology for opportunistic data collection by fishers for the monitoring of:

1. Climate change
2. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
3. Fishing stocks

Innovation and International Cooperation

By using the Mediterranean as a laboratory for the development and testing of this innovation, and by working with an international Advisory Board of experts, LIFE OASIS will contribute to international cooperation initiatives currently focusing on aFADs for food security and the mitigation of illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing (IUU).