The objective of the project of the entity Associació Paisatges Vius is to prevent local extinctions of samaruc and increase its current distribution area in Catalonia.

The Associació Paisatges Vius has developed a project whose objective has been to prevent local extinctions of samaruc and increase its current distribution area in Catalonia. The samaruc is a fish declared critically endangered according to the IUCN red list in 2015 there were only six populations left worldwide, four of them in Catalonia.

The project contemplated the following actions:

• Restoration of two coastal lagoons.
• Ex situ breeding and release of samarucs in the two restored lagoons.
• Planning of public use in the surroundings of coastal lagoons.
• Signing of land stewardship agreements.

At the start of the project, the Port de L’Estany lagoon and the Torrent del Pi lagoon, located in L’Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona), were restored. Subsequently, 4,000 specimens of samaruc were released. In 2016, more than 2,000 specimens of samaruc were bred ex situ , which were released in the Estany Tort, also in L’Ametlla de Mar. In March 2017, another release was carried out in Port de L’Estany with just over 2,000 specimens. For the release, it was taken into account that of the total number of specimens released, 50% were males and 50% females, in addition to releasing females that showed signs of being pregnant, so that they would have the offspring in the wild. All individuals were tagged for follow-up.

In the surroundings of the three lagoons, fences and information panels were placed , explaining life in these ecosystems, their main problems and the objectives of the initiative.

Another of the actions achieved within the framework of the initiative has been the signing of two land stewardship agreements:

• Agreement on the custody of Cala Justell between Paisatges Vius and the City Council of Vandellòs i l’hospitalet de l’Infant.
• Custody agreement of Torrent del Pi between Paisatges Vius and the City Council of l’Ametlla de Mar.

The initiative has made it possible to take steps to advance in the conservation and protection of the samaruc.