The second workshop dedicated to the accidental capture of cetaceans in fishing activities took place in Matosinhos and brought together specialists, entities, fishermen and the CCMAR team.
Ana Marçalo, a researcher at CCMAR, took the opportunity to reveal some results of the mitigation tests carried out along the Algarve coast and which seek to reduce conflicts between fisheries and cetaceans.
«The trials are being very successful and the fishermen of the Algarve are wanting to continue our collaboration», said the biologist.
Part of the work was carried out within the scope of the iNOVPESCA project, which was recognized this month by the fisheries secretariat «for valuing the research effort of CCMAR to make the Algarve fisheries more sustainable, looking for solutions to mitigate accidental catches and the economic damage that fishermen suffer. with the interaction with cetaceans», reads the note.
After the first workshop was held in April at the University of Algarve, the one in Matosinhos was the second organized under the European project CetAMBICion, which collaborates with the fishing sector to mitigate the accidental capture of cetaceans.
In Matosinhos, «the problems inherent to the interactions between fishing activities and cetaceans were presented, and mechanisms and behaviors were discussed to mitigate accidental captures and adapt different solutions to national fisheries», underlines the CCMAR.
The meeting was attended by Apropesca – Organization of Artisanal Fisheries Producers – and APX – Associação Portuguesa da Xávega, as well as researchers from the Center for Marine Sciences of the Algarve (CCMAR), the Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research ( CIIMAR) and the University of Minho and representatives of the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM), the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) and of the National Maritime Authority.
The CetAMBICion project seeks to «answer the need to reduce incidental catches of cetaceans during EU fishing activity, particularly in the sub-region of the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast, a threat to the survival of these protected species» – an objective that is being in accordance with the objectives of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (DQEM), the Habitats Directive and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
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