Until 2026, the initiative, coordinated by the ICM, will carry out a series of actions in close collaboration with the scientific community, administrations and the fishing sector.
The LIFE ECOREST project, which counts among its partners the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, starts with the objective of restoring 29,022 ha of deep marine habitats in Catalonia in an action area of great ecological value located along the coast of Girona and Barcelona.
This initiative, coordinated by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), also has as partners the Federation of Fishermen's Guilds of Girona, the University of Barcelona and WWF, and has the financial contribution of the LIFE Program of the European Union.
An area of great ecological importance
In the project's area of action, it is estimated that more than 90% of the seabed between 50 and 800 meters deep shows signs of degradation, which hinders the regeneration of natural resources. This area is considered a point of great ecological importance due to the high concentration of endangered, threatened or vulnerable species, including corals and gorgonians.
For this reason, the LIFE ECOREST project will promote until 2026 a program of actions to try to improve the conservation status of benthic habitats and demonstrate the effectiveness of participatory management of the fishing sector. Specifically, active restoration strategies, successfully implemented in previous projects, will be carried out.
The more than 29,000 hectares to be restored are distributed in 14 fishing protection zones along the coast of Girona and Barcelona. Six of the project's action zones are permanent no-take zones and the remaining zones have a temporary fishing restriction that has been agreed between fishermen's associations, the scientific community and the Spanish fisheries administration.
"The environmental emergency that the planet and, above all, the ocean is experiencing requires urgent actions for the recovery of habitats and biodiversity. This project aims to contribute, through innovative techniques of active restoration, to the recovery of the seabed, with the active collaboration of fishermen and other assets of society," explains Josep Maria Gili, ICM researcher and one of the responsibles of the project, who adds that "this is a great challenge that seeks to become an example for other areas of the Mediterranean".
Participation and governance
Among the project's actions, it will promote participatory management of the fishing sector, facilitate spaces for dialogue, strengthen governance mechanisms and raise public awareness of the importance of conserving deep-sea habitats. The restoration and governance schemes will be replicated in other fishing areas and the results and active conservation measures will be transferred to other Mediterranean areas in similar situations.
LIFE ECOREST is aligned with the objectives and goals of the Spanish Strategy for Green Infrastructure, Connectivity and Ecological Restoration, a fundamental planning tool to identify, conserve and recover damaged ecosystems throughout Spain and connect them with each other.