Il progetto di cooperazione TARTA-TUR nella newsletter “FARNET Flash” di Febbraio 2019!
Fishermen and scientists team up to preserve protected species and businesses on Northern Adriatic coast
All too often, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can be seen as hampering the livelihood of local fishermen. However, a cooperation project based on the Veneto coast is building trust between the research world and fishing community, as they work together to analyse the interaction between commercial fishing activities and the protected species present in the Northern Adriatic Sea. The aim is to explore possible socio-economic effects that the conservation measures of a marine Site of Community Importance (SCI) can have on fisheries and aquaculture businesses.
Local fishermen will host researchers from the University of Padua (IT) on board their boats, looking out for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta Caretta) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus). During their daily work, the fishermen will monitor the presence and number of the protected species, and receive training on what to do if they encounter the dolphins or turtles – especially injured ones.
“Tarta-Tur”, a combination of the Italian word for turtle (tartaruga) and the dolphin’s name in Latin (Tursiops), involves four FLAGs across three Italian regions. FLAG Veneziano and FLAG Chioggia e delta del Po were joined by FLAG Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and FLAG Costa dell’Emilia-Romagna in September 2018. The project also aims to redefine the SCI areas, taking into account both the conservation of the two species, as well as the economic activity in these areas. FARNET Support Unit will be following the progress of Tarta-Tur with a Good Practice in the future.
