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CONCEPTU Maris “CONservation of CEtaceans and Pelagic sea TUrtles in Med: Managing Actions for their Recovery In Sustainability”

CONCEPTU Maris “CONservation of CEtaceans and Pelagic sea TUrtles in Med: Managing Actions for their Recovery In Sustainability”

The project is based on the awareness that the Mediterranean Sea is undergoing serious changes driven by increasing anthropogenic pressures. On this regards, cetaceans and pelagic sea turtles are among the most charismatic species of our Seas and crucial bioindicators of marine health conditions, since their wellbeing reflects integrity of both low and high ranks of the food web.

The conservation status of CEPTU species is still considered data deficient for most taxa according to the last Habitats Directive Art. 17 Report (2013 - 2018) and the EEA Report (No 10/2020), which states that “marine mammals (cetaceans) are among the species with the highest proportion of unknown assessments (over 78 %)”. The data deficiency is mainly due to the fact that CEPTU species spend the majority of their life in remote offshore areas most difficult to monitor because of their extent, highly dynamic nature and the high costs involved in carrying out regular large scale surveys that overcome socio-political borders.

With their offshore movements, they are exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors, such as maritime traffic (MT hereafter) and marine litter (ML hereafter). MT is responsible for underwater noise, pollution, and disturbance towards marine fauna. Disturbance by boats can determine short and long term changes in the behavior and distribution of CEPTU species and is directly related to the risk of collisions. Maritime traffic density and composition changes during the year, and the potential impact on CEPTU varies among time and space, according to spatio-temporal distribution both of species and threats. ML is one of the main threats to CEPTU species, due to risk of entanglement, ingestion or toxicological effects. Entanglement in fishing related gears also contributes to increased risks linked to the pressure of fishery in pelagic areas. In the Mediterranean Sea there are no permanent structures able to retain litter items in the long-term so that the risk due to marine litter is scattered over broad areas, with high seasonal variability both in the amount and composition of items. That characteristics, combined with the marked mobile nature of CEPTU species, lead to high specie’s vulnerability almost anywhere, but with different intensity depending on areas and seasons. Therefore, to plan effective mitigation strategies, a precise knowledge of spatio-temporal distribution of both species and the threats to which they are exposed in offshore areas is required.

Most of CEPTUs species spend the majority of their lifespan in large marine regions which are not specifically protected. Protected Areas alone (hereafter PA, i.e. Natura2000 sites, Marine Protected Areas), even if they are among the most effective area-based management tools for the preservation of vulnerable species and their habitats, cannot assure efficient conservation especially for large range migratory species. To this aim, the legislation requires to activate “a strict protection regime across the species' entire natural range, both within and outside Natura 2000 sites” (Habitats Directive) identifying the important areas (e.g. buffer zones, stepping stones, feeding grounds and ecological corridors) to prioritize mitigation actions and conservation measures.

Main goal of the project is to improve the conservation status of Mediterranean cetaceans and pelagic sea turtles, by contributing to fill the information gaps in offshore areas, setting an internationally agreed multidisciplinary approach for the surveillance of species and the assessment of maritime traffic and marine litter impact. In particular, the project aims at:

  • collect information on the ecological needs of the target species for the mapping of areas important for their conservation;
  • collect information on the main threats for the mapping of high-risk areas / seasons in which the application of conservation measures will be a priority;
  • define an effective standard approach for the long-term surveillance of the conservation status of the different species in their range;
  • foster international cooperation for the development and adoption of shared procedures in order to support the identification of important areas and for the long-term surveillance of the conservation status of the target species and for the identification of the most suitable mechanism to meet the species conservation needs.

Main actions of the project

A main action of the Life CM is the advancement and implementation of the best practice of the international FLT Med monitoring Network (https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/activities/biodiversity/flt-mediterranean-monitoring-network-marine-species-and-threats) and the Interreg MEDSEALITTER projects (https://medsealitter.interreg-med.eu/) for continuous monitoring from ferries of cetaceans and pelagic sea turtle species, maritime traffic and marine litter, integrating standard methods and «next generation data». The visual monitoring of species and main threats (maritime traffic and marine litter) will be integrated with environmental DNA techniques (eDNA), stable isotope analysis, and in-situ environmental data collection that will integrated remote sensing data and model-based products. A lot of biological data will be acquired and made available in offshore areas and a first Marine eDNA Bank will be set up.

One important action is focused on the direct involvement of key stakeholders from the maritime industry, capitalizing and improving the SICOMAR plus project (http://interreg-maritime.eu/web/sicomarplus), and from the public at large through a citizen science specific action. The training and direct involvement of citizens and company staff is considered already a concreate conservation action from which we can expect a behavioral change towards the conservation issues.

A strategic action of the project is the direct involvement of multi-sectorial stakeholders in the Advisory Board. 29 organizations are involved in the Advisory Board including National, Regional and Local Authorities (including the Ministry of Ecological Transition of Italy, France and Spain), International Organizations of the species conservation sector (e.g. Accobams, Pelagos, RAC-SPA, MedPan, IMPEL, Office Français Biodiversité, Musèe National Histoire Français), ferry companies and sectorial maritime consortium, Scientific community, and representatives of the Green ‘Blue’ Economy sector. The Advisory Board is a concrete tool for the coordination and implementation of the project which guarantee the coherence of project actions with the up to date inter-sectorial scenario, and for activating and facilitating an ongoing exchanges, necessary for the species status assessment and the identification of effective and feasible mitigation measures.

All the data, information and the shared proposal for mitigation measures will be integrated in a Decision Support Framework combined with a Decision Support System that will allow the identification of coherence and gaps between the Action Plan strategies already in place and the identified needs, and will guide the identification of effective conservation measures.

The project started the 10th of January 2022 and will end the 9th of January 2026.

Eleven high-qualified scientific partners will collaborate to implement the project: ISPRA - Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Beneficiary coordinator), Milano Bicocca University, Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Palermo University, Capo Carbonara MPA, Triton Research Srl, Stazione Zoologica A.Dohrn (SZN), Universitat de Valencia, EcoOceàn Institut, Turin University, CIMA Foundation.