Sustainable Fisheries Project Launches in Telašćica Nature Park

The key objective of the FishMPABlue2 Project is to maintain the biodiversity of marine protected areas.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and partners have launched the FishMPABlue2 project, which aims to introduce sustainable fisheries in marine protected areas with tremendous marine biodiversity, reports Pomorac.net on October 25, 2017.

In Croatia, the project is implemented in Telašćica Nature Park, and the main aim of the new tools and practices, which will be put to test during the project, is to involve fishermen in the coastal fisheries management processes with a common goal of conserving fish stocks and biodiversity in marine protected areas. Only by applying the principles and practices of sustainable fishing and including local fishermen in the process can the long-term sustainability of fishing resources be ensured, along with the good economic and social status of the local population.

"Despite the great socioeconomic importance, inshore fishing in marine protected areas does not always get the attention it deserves. Inshore fishermen are often excluded from the decision-making process and are faced with socio-economic difficulties, leading to unsustainable exhaustion of marine resources. With this project, we want to ensure the full involvement of fishermen in fisheries management in the protected areas, thus ensuring the long-term availability of natural resources," said Patrik Krstinić, Project Coordinator at WWF Adria.

The implementation of measures from the "Coastal Fisheries Management Toolkit", developed during the first phase of the project, in 11 marine protected areas across six Mediterranean countries, will be used to test the effectiveness of measures aimed at improving fisheries management. Huge attention will also be given to the networking of marine protected areas as well as exchanging good fishing practices.

"During the project, we will test innovative measures for the management of inshore fishing, which have been developed within the FishMPABlue1 project. If these measures prove to be successful, i.e. the fish population improves and the satisfaction level of local fishermen rises, we would like for them to be adopted and used in day-to-day management of marine protected areas across the Mediterranean," Krstinić concluded.

The FISHMPABLUE2 project is co-financed by the European Union's ERDF and IPA funds. The project duration is foreseen for 3 years, from November 2016 to October 2019, and the total estimated budget of the project is 3.5 million euros.

Read more about the project here.

Translated from Pomorac.net