The fifth oceanographic campaign of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project has begun in the Balearic Islands to explore the Menorca Channel, an area between the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, which is home to a great wealth of species and habitats of community interest.

The campaign will be carried out for three weeks on the continental shelf of the Menorca Channel, located between 50 and 100 meters deep. This area has large extensions of rhodoliths, calcareous red algae that form the maërl bottoms.

This habitat of community interest is also home to the large brown algae Laminaria rodriguezii, endemic to the Mediterranean, and dense forests of unique species, such as the gorgonians Paramuricea macrospina, Paramuricea clavata and Eunicella singularis, characteristic of the coralligenous seabed, as well as large sponges, such as Axinella polypoides.

The objective of this campaign is to evaluate the effects of artisanal fishing, mainly trammel fishing for lobster catch, on the coralligenous bottoms, and that of trawling on the maërl bottoms. To do this, samples will be taken and filmed from the seabed. In addition, high-resolution bathymetric data and geological profilers will be obtained and analysed with the aim of improving the geomorphological characterisation of the sampled areas.

In this new expedition, which will end on May 10, researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography will collect data and information to improve scientific knowledge on the effects of fishing activities on protected habitats of this marine space of the Natura 2000 Network, declared a Site of Community Interest (SCI) and Fisheries Protection Area.

The information obtained will complement previous scientific studies, including the LIFE +INDEMARES project (2009-2014). En esta ocasión, la campaña oceanográfica se enmarca en la acción del proyecto LIFE IP INTEMARES destinada a diagnosticar el impacto de las actividades humanas y del cambio climático sobre la Red Natura 2000 marina y proponer medidas para controlar, eliminar y mitigar sus efectos.

Specifically, the results of this research campaign will be used to develop the future management plan for the area, based on a solid scientific basis. Knowing the impact of fishing activities on habitats on the rocky and sedimentary bottoms of the Menorca Channel will make it possible to develop measures that contribute to making the protection of these habitats, and their species, compatible with the development of sustainable fishing.

The LIFE IP INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, aims to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, with science and the active participation of the sectors involved.

The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the Ministry itself, the IEO, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.

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