The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment has launched a participatory process to update, together with the fishing sector, among other agents involved, the management plan for El Cachucho, in Asturias, a Marine Protected Area and Special Area of Conservation since 2011.
After a first prior public consultation, a workshop took place last weekend in Gijón, where socio-economic sectors, public administrations and the scientific community have been involved with the aim of working together on measures to achieve a better conservation of the values of the area and face new challenges in the planning of uses and activities.
El Cachucho has had a management plan since 2011, an instrument that must be updated by consensus together with the agents involved in the use of this marine protected area of the Natura 2000 Network, the main tool of the European Union for the protection of habitats and species at the community level.
With the participation of the sectors involved, it will be possible to bring together positions with respect to the new measures to be included in the new management plan, in order to make the development of socio-economic activities compatible with the conservation of ecosystems.
COMMITMENT OF THE FISHING SECTOR TO PROTECTED AREAS
Along these lines, the workshop confirmed the commitment of the fishing sector to the protection of biodiversity, especially in protected marine areas such as El Cachucho, one of the marine areas with the greatest natural wealth in our seas.
This underwater mountain, known as Banco Le Danois, is located about 65 km off the Asturian coast of Ribadesella and rises from a depth of 4,000 metres to 425 metres at its summit.
Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography have identified more than 740 species of interest in the area, some of them new to science. Its natural wealth is based on its rocky bottoms, which allow the fixation of species such as corals, sponges and gorgonians, which make up a habitat that serves as a home for many other species.
In addition to its ecological value, El Cachucho is a refuge for important populations of species of fishing interest. Studies carried out in the area have confirmed the presence of broodstock of species of commercial interest such as loach, lily, goat and deep-sea scorpionfish.
THE LARGEST MARINE CONSERVATION PROJECT
The participatory workshop has been carried out within the framework of LIFE IP INTEMARES, the largest marine conservation project in Europe, which is coordinated by the Ministry through the Biodiversity Foundation and acts as a partner through the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea.
The Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE Programme, as well as the European Social Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, among other sources of funding. With this initiative, Spain will be able to comply with the international commitment to effectively and sustainably protect more than 10% of its marine area.
