European Sharks

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The Mediterranean Sea is a biodiversity hotspot for elasmobranchs, hosting over 80 different species of sharks, rays, and chimaera. However, this area has a long history of fishery exploitation that, in addition to other anthropogenic factors, have resulted in the decline of several marine organisms. The sea has lost 41 % of its top predators and 34 % of the total fish population over the past 50 years. The European Red List of Marine Fishes shows that species most at risk are not generally those that are subject to targeted fishery exploitation. The large-bodied, long-lived cartilaginous fishes, including sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish, appear to be in the worst conditions, in particular in the Mediterranean Sea, where elasmobranch populations have been severely impacted, with drastic decreases in their numbers and the diversity of species. Mediterranean sharks and rays are the most threatened group of marine fish in Europe and among the most under threat in the world due to unsustainable levels of accidental captures, pollution and habitat destruction. The Mediterranean International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List indicates the vulnerability of elasmobranchs and the lack of data regarding their demise. Some 39 species, 53 % of the 73 assessed species, are critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable, and many have an elevated and worsening threat status regionally, compared to other regions of the world.

The main drivers of decline are bycatch and habitat degradation, especially in the Northwest Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea. These pressures, coupled with sharks’ low reproductive potential, with slow growth and delayed maturation, long reproductive cycles, low fecundity and long lifespans, mean that sharks are a high-risk group. Given the high trophic level of these species, the conservation of the diversity of this group of important predators, some of them apical, is essential for the health of ecosystems, as population changes could cascade down with unpredictable effects on many trophic webs. The policy development, and the delivery of management and conservation measures regulating the use, international trade, and capture of sharks, are hindered by gaps in basic knowledge. The need for accurate data collection on bycatch species continues to be a critical fishery management issue.

LIFE EU SHARKS will engage European citizens and marine stakeholders in a joint effort to safeguard Mediterranean sharks and rays. As they are often highly migratory and cross many national borders over their lifespan, the project activities will encompass Italy, France, Croatia, Spain, and Slovenia, to rally the entire Central and Western Mediterranean behind conservation efforts.

OBJECTIVES

LIFE EU SHARKS addresses the elasmobranch crisis in the Mediterranean Sea, promoting key behaviour change for biodiversity conservation. It aims to reduce the decline of elasmobranch by preventing conflicts with marine users, changing perceptions and nurturing coexistence through more sustainable practices among commercial and recreational users, promoting better implementation of Union regulations and active citizen engagement, with a participatory approach that will encourage key stakeholders to modify their behaviours. The project follows five specific objectives:

1. To build and manage lasting partnerships between relevant actors to support the implementation of the governance aspects ranging from compliance assurance, public participation, access to justice, with a focus on the legislation aspects related to vulnerable elasmobranchs species;

2. To safeguard protected elasmobranch species and reduce the decline of all elasmobranch species affected by human activities, by increasing compliance with Union regulations, modifying shark-impacting stakeholders’ behaviour, co-creating new management practices;

3. To increase awareness, support for conservation and more sustainable seafood consumption, through activities and outreach;

4. To promote the uptake of conservation and management measures across the Mediterranean Sea, providing increased cross-border protection to these highly mobile species;

5. To monitor socio-economic goals.

Planned activities:

• Training, engagement and awareness building will equip marine shark-impacting stakeholders with the necessary skills and give the public guidelines to reduce shark and ray mortality while limiting the disturbance of vulnerable species in the Mediterranean Sea;
• Data fit for management and policy will be collected, also through citizen science activities, and shared with authorities, policymakers, and other aligned projects to facilitate the uptake of the project’s results;
• The project will strengthen the implementation of EU regulations and improve management, with a capacity building effort across the five Mediterranean countries, which will increase compliance, monitoring, and enforcement, as well as proper data collection, to reduce the mortality of protected species;
• It will motivate professional fishermen to co-design and trial voluntary solutions to curb bycatch mortality, such as releasing live discards and juveniles of commercial species and increase the post-release survival of sharks and rays, especially angel sharks, by adopting best handling practices, and monitoring the socio-economic impacts;
• Best practices will also be adopted by the recreational fishing community, inspiring anglers to increase the survival chances of sharks and rays with catch&release and following appropriate safer handling practices;
• Divers will restore nursery areas and EU Sharks Dive Spots, reducing the risks of entanglement in marine litter and discarded/lost fishing gear;
• Sustainable consumption will be promoted among citizens, involving chefs, canteens, and food bloggers. Each will encourage the consumption of local and more sustainable seafood products;
• Outreach will increase public understanding of the essential role of these unique species in the health of Mediterranean ecosystems, shifting the perception of sharks from ‘dangerous’ to ̒‘endangered’;
• Awareness activities targeted at students and the general public will promote a better understanding of this endangered group and the role it plays in the health of marine ecosystems;
• Divers and diving centres will attempt to reduce habitat degradation in critical areas and promote responsible shark and ray watching;
• The social outcomes of the project will be evaluated in terms of public perception and of the socio-economic impact on commercial fishermen of more sustainable fishing practices;
• The project will produce an estimate of consumers' willingness to pay and the degree of market diffusion of a voluntary informal label that certifies the adoption of shark-friendlier fishing practices;
• A white paper will include the project's co-created, evidence-based and locally tested solutions and key policy recommendations. It will be shared across the Mediterranean Sea to assist authorities, policymakers, and communities in implementing shark conservation measures;
• The long-term goal is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of Mediterranean elasmobranchs, by encouraging joint responsibility and promoting changes in behaviour as a key factor in reversing their decline across the basin.
  

RESULTS

•  Around 10 000 people reached and mortality reduced. The mortality and disturbance to sharks and rays are reduced through enforcement, compliance, increased skills, reduction of entanglement threats, and reduced consumption. This will include: 3 000 commercial fishermen; 420 fishery officers, fish market veterinarians and operators; 4 000 recreational fishermen; 400 shark practitioners and future professionals; 2 000 divers; 250 cooks and 240 culinary students;
•  Around 100 organisations commit to reduce the mortality or threats faced by sharks and rays. Those involved include 40 fishing clubs; 40 diving centres; 20 associations including the International Game Fishing Association, Big Game, and the Croatian Recreational Federation. The involvement of such entities will help to remove at least 40 fishing gears;
•  Around 15 million people learn about the shark crisis and need for conservation actions. Four million people are reached by Costa Edutainment S.p.A., managing dissemination in Acquario di Livorno (with boasted on average 1.5 million visitors per year, according to pre-COVID-19 data); 80 000 people reached through events; 30 000 students taking part in shark classes; 50 staff trained; 20 journalists gained a better understanding of the issue; 100 000 people took part in project activities in trade shows; 520 000 individuals watching the exhibit in other Aquaria (e.g., in Cala Gonone, Pula and Dubrovnik); 10 million people reached through media (at least 100 news items on the project on Regional and National media; 20 000 likes on the project’s Facebook page and 2 000 followers on Twitter);
•  150 commercial and 300 recreational fishermen will provide feedback on shark sightings/releases; their commitment is expressed by signing the project’s pledge;
•  600 sharks released, and information on 600 sharks reported: at the end of the project, at least 100 sharks will be released by recreational fishermen and 500 by professional fishermen, and as much information is reported by the target groups;
•  1 200 records of elasmobranch interactions, including reports of sightings, captures, and releases;
•  10 000 inspections a year will measure the enforcement by the Italian Coast Guard;
•  10 Authorities (three in Italy, three in Croatia, three in France, one in Slovenia) endorse and adopt more stringent management measures developed by the project: three Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) including Cap Corse MPA, Porto Cesareo MPA, Isole Egadi MPA, will test and adopt stricter regulations during the project, and additional seven  authorities will follow;
•  A white paper will include the project's co-created, evidence-based, and locally tested solutions alongside key policy recommendations;
•  At least three drivers will be identified to assess public behaviour and perceptions so that effective strategies for wildlife protection can be developed. Drivers behind the public perception of sharks and rays, and attitudes to conservation will be identified from 1 000 respondents to surveys to identify: one driver leading the perception of elasmobranchs; one leading on the awareness of the inclusion of elasmobranch species as ingredients in traditional recipes; one driver leading the citizen confidence about environmental labelling specific to marine ecosystems;
•  An increase of 20 % of the total sum of people identified as virtuous and responsible consumers is expected at the end of the project as assessed by questionnaires.