We have commenced joint efforts with fishing guilds along the coastline of Barcelona and Girona to maintain gorgonians, corals, sponges, and other structuring organisms that are accidentally captured. These organisms will be recovered in aquariums installed in the fishing guilds and returned to the sea through the collaboration of the fishing sector.
The first of the planned 18 aquariums has been installed in the guild of Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona), and it is expected that by the end of the year, eight more guilds will have them. Additionally, oceanographic campaigns will be carried out to monitor their progress, among other research studies.
This action is part of an initiative to restore nearly 30,000 hectares of deep marine habitats in Catalonia, with active participation from the fishing sector. In order to achieve this objective, the initiative counts on partners such as the ICM-CSIC, Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, Universitat de Barcelona, and WWF España, as well as the financial contribution from the European Union’s LIFE Programme.
The partners have presented, within the framework of a press day, the project’s progress, as well as the benefits of marine restoration and the importance of marine reserves in regenerating habitats and key species such as corals and gorgonians, which act as architects of the marine ecosystems. They have also emphasized the fundamental role of the fishing sector in this work and the efforts of fishermen to ensure the sustainability of their activity.
In this regard, the innovative nature of this project has been emphasized, both in terms of the methodology used and the extensive spatial area in which it is being implemented, as well as the close collaboration among the scientific community, the fishing sector, and various involved administrations.
During the event, organisms from deep-sea habitats recovered in the aquariums using the badminton method have also been returned to the sea. This technique involves attaching corals and gorgonians to a rocky substrate to keep them upright and launching them directly into the sea from the vessels.
Restoration accelerates the natural recovery capacity of these marine communities, which have been in a poor conservation state due to decades of human activity impacts. Precisely, in the project’s targeted zone along the coastline of Barcelona and Girona, it is estimated that over 90% of the seafloor between 50 and 800 meters deep shows signs of degradation, hindering the regeneration of natural resources. This area is considered of great ecological importance due to the high concentration of endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species, including corals and gorgonians.
Therefore, until 2026, the action program of the LIFE ECOREST project will strive to improve the conservation status of deep marine habitats and demonstrate the effectiveness of participatory management involving the fishing sector.
Among these actions, dialogue spaces will be provided, and the development of capacities and governance schemes for key users and managers will be encouraged. In this regard, a first workshop to establish these foundations will take place tomorrow.
COMMEMORATION OF THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIFE PROGRAM
During the same event, the Ministerio para la Transición Eclógica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO), through the Fundación Biodiversidad and the National Focal Point of the LIFE programme, managed by the Ministry’s Budget Office, commemorated the 30th anniversary of the European Union’s LIFE program. The event involved sharing the conservation successes of habitats and species in Spain achieved through this financial instrument of the European Union. In Spain, the LIFE programme has supported over 920 projects with a financial contribution of approximately 830 million euros.
LIFE ECOREST
This initiative, coordinated by the ICM-CSIC, counts on partners such as Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona , Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Eclógica y el Reto Demográfico, Universitat de Barcelona, and WWF España, as well as the financial contribution from the European Union’s LIFE Programme.