The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, a partner in LIFE ECOREST, has launched a program of awareness activities aimed at locals in the project’s working areas along the Girona and Barcelona coast, and at visitors to participating fishermen’s guilds.
This initiative intends to convey to residents and tourists the importance of conciliating fishing with the conservation of natural resources, the value of deep-sea habitats, and the actions of the LIFE ECOREST project.
To this end, resources will be provided to the fishermen’s guilds and organizations that regularly conduct guided tours of their facilities, and four additional awareness activities will be carried out in Port de la Selva, Llançà, Roses, and Palamós.
The first activity took place at the fishermen’s guild in Port de la Selva, with around 40 participants. During the day, awareness was raised about the value of marine biodiversity and the essential collaboration of the fishing sector for its conservation and restoration. Participants were able to learn firsthand about the work of the guild, its history, structure, organization, and its role in fisheries management, as well as the different fishing methods and the marketing of fish at the fish market.
Following, the LIFE ECOREST project was presented, highlighting the collaborative work between the scientific community, the fishing sector, and administrations to achieve the goal of restoring 30,000 hectares of deep-sea marine habitats in the waters off Girona and Barcelona.
VISIT TO THE AQUARIUMS IN FISHERMEN’S GUILD
At the Port de la Selva fishermen’s guild facilities, visitors toured the aquariums where corals, gorgonians, sponges, and bryozoans rescued from fishing nets are being rehabilitated. These organisms will be reintroduced into the project’s fishing reserve areas using the Badminton method, which allows them to be attached to pebbles to ensure their safe arrival and positioning on the seabed. Using binocular magnifying glasses, participants closely observed these structural organisms, the architects of the seabed.
In Port de la Selva, they also had the opportunity to sail to one of the project’s working areas to release recovered sessile organisms back into the sea. These activities have been carried out with the collaboration of the Port de la Selva Town Council and the Fishermen’s Guild.
LIFE ECOREST
The LIFE ECOREST project aims to restore approximately 30,000 hectares of deep-sea habitats in Catalonia through the active involvement of the fishing sector. In addition to research and conservation efforts, the project promotes participatory management, strengthens governance mechanisms, and raises public awareness about the need to protect deep-sea ecosystems.
Coordinated by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) until 2026, the project involves key partners, including the Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, the Biodiversity Foundation (MITECO), the University of Barcelona, and WWF Spain. It is co-funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme and benefits from the collaboration of fishermen’s associations in Llançà, Port de la Selva, Cadaqués, Roses, Palamós, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Blanes, Arenys de Mar, and Vilanova i la Geltrú.