MedBycatch
Developing a standardized multi-taxa approach to study and mitigate bycatch in the Mediterranean.
The MedBycatch project is developing a standardized multi-taxa approach to study and mitigate bycatch in the Mediterranean. Activities are implemented in the Mediterranean waters of Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, and Croatia.
Objectives
- Provide robust data on the impact of fishing operations on marine megafauna via onboard observations and questionnaires in port. The aim is to allow comparison across the Mediterranean.
- Demonstrate the viability of technical mitigation measures that can reduce the impact of bycatch on vulnerable species.
- Promote measures that address bycatch to be adopted within GFCM-FAO and the EU.
- Raise awareness on the issue of bycatch of vulnerable species and build support for actions that tackle this problem.
- Facilitate replication across the Mediterranean.
Partners
The incidental catches of vulnerable species, such as marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, sharks and rays, and coral and sponges in fishing gear, known as « bycatch », is a key conservation issue for the Mediterranean. Bycatch is one of the biggest threats to marine biodiversity with thousands of threatened marine species being caught in fishing gear every year. These incidents are also a problem for fishers, who suffer damage to their fishing gears. This is the reason why MedBycatch was launched, with the aim of supporting sustainable fisheries and reduce the impacts on vulnerable species.
The MedBycatch project awarded
