THE MAVA 1 PROJECT (2015 – 2018)

The project, “Mitigating interactions between endangered marine species and fishing activities”, covering the period from 2015 to 2018, was launched to improve efforts to conserve endangered marine species listed in Annex II of the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol), by promoting responsible fishing practices in selected fisheries in the western and central Mediterranean. The project was funded by the MAVA Foundation and it was coordinated by the Secretariats of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), in collaboration with the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Center (UNEP/MAP-SPA/RAC).

The project had two objectives:

1. to learn more about how endangered marine species were being affected by fishing activities, and how fishers were being affected by incidental catches and depredation;
2. to promote the introduction of fishing-tourism and opportunistic whale watching, as a way of generating additional income for fishers, reducing the fishing pressure on targeted fish stocks and, potentially, decreasing their negative interactions with endangered species.

In this context, the project:

• implemented eight pilot actions in selected fisheries to serve as practical case studies creating a base of preliminary information as a starting point;
• developed capacity-building and ecotourism initiatives;
• published outreach materials.

Download the brochure presenting the project main outcomes.

Kick-off meeting (07-08 April, 2015 Tunis, Tunisia)

Training workshop on technical measures to mitigate interactions of endangered species with fisheries and to reduce post-capture mortality (14-16 September, 2015 Barcelona, Spain) (Report / Photo Gallery)

Closure workshop (20 March 2018, Fuengirola, Spain)

Based on a participatory approach implemented by the national partners with fishers, eight pilot actions were implemented in Algeria, France, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia. Each pilot action had a specific objective, and all were aimed at better understanding the interactions between endangered marine species and fisheries. The information gathered through these actions was intended to provide insight into how to approach the issue. After a preliminary phase during which data were collected and the main issues were identified, possible fisheries mitigation measures were implemented to reduce the incidental catch of endangered marine species and to decrease depredation in a number of fisheries. Given the limited resources allocated to each pilot action in this project, it was not possible to implement equal monitoring efforts across the different pilot actions. For some of the national partners involved, these pilot actions represent a first attempt to establish a cooperative framework between researchers and fishers to better understand and to assess the interactions between endangered marine species and fisheries. All of which contributes to building a regional network of expertise and to supporting the development of future activities. The reports below summarize the results obtained in each pilot action.

In areas where fish stocks are overexploited and where there are issues with dolphins and depredation in fishing nets, such as in Morocco and Tunisia, ecotourism could help artisanal fishers to generate complementary and alternative incomes, and it could reduce the pressure on marine resources and risks to endangered species. Activities that aimed to support the development of fishing-tourism and whale watching, building upon the link between traditional fishing and observation of marine fauna, considering fishers as “ambassadors” of the seas, were developed in Morocco and Tunisia. Legal and institutional issues to be considered for fishing-tourism and sustainable dolphin watching activities, and standards to prevent disruption and harassment of the animals, in particular the “High Quality Whale-Watching®” Certificate, were presented to relevant stakeholders (such as ministries of fisheries, transport and tourism sectors, etc.) during training workshops. There were study visits for Moroccan and Tunisian delegations to discover fishing-tourism and whale-watching activities in France and Italy and to learn from the experiences of professional operators. Demonstration projects were carried out in both countries to demonstrate the feasibility of ecotourism activities in close coordination with fishers’ organizations, national authorities, and local non-governmental organizations.

Good practice guides to handle and release vulnerable marine species incidentally caught during fishing operations were produced under the framework of the project. The main objective of these guides is to promote awareness and responsible fishing practices among the fisher’s community in the Mediterranean Sea.

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