Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

General Objective:

To innovatively improve the management of the Cabo Tiñoso area and the underwater valleys of the Mazarrón Escarpment and the knowledge of the presence of key species and anthropic interactions of the Palos dry and the pockmarks area with special attention to fishing activity, both as a key element and as pressure.

Specific objectives:

1. Identify the basic needs and indicators for updating the management plans of the study area.
2. Identify the conservation objectives and key elements of the study area based on existing regulations.
3. Compile and integrate the information of the necessary variables from the optimization of the sources of information that represent the indicators and needs raised (administrative, ecological, environmental and anthropic) of the dry of Palos and the area of pockmarks, and the update of the 2011-2017 time series in the area of the RMIP Cabo Tiñoso and SAC Escarpes de Mazarrón.
4. To identify the patterns of spatial and, where appropriate, temporal distribution of the key species (Tursiops truncatus, Caretta caretta, Grampus griseus, Glophicephala melas, Balaenoptera physalus, Physeter macrocephalus, Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis, Mola mola,) completing the one analyzed spatially and temporally in CAMONMAR2.
5. Identify the main elasmobranch species in the study area and estimate spatial distribution patterns.
6. Identify the main pressures and impacts on areas frequented by key elasmobranch species and fishing areas.
7. Develop proposal for the evaluation of the key species of elasmobranchs present and the fishing sector.
8. Develop criteria for area planning to contribute to better management or conservation of marine biological resources.
9. Define a framework for action prior to and/or complementary to the LIFE IP INTEMARES campaigns.
10. To promote citizen participation and co-responsibility for marine management among the key agents of the territory (fishing, diving, scientific sector, citizen associations, local, regional and state administration, etc.).
11. To publicize the natural and cultural heritage of the SAC ‘Escarpes de Mazarrón’ and the area of the Palos dry and its area of socio-economic influence, disseminating the benefits generated by protected marine spaces, valuing economic activities compatible with the conservation of marine biodiversity and promoting citizen participation in the conservation of the territory.
12. Transfer the acquired knowledge to managers.

Results have been obtained aimed at improving, in an innovative way, the management of the area of Cabo Tiñoso and the underwater valleys of the Escarpe de Mazarrón and the knowledge of the presence of key species and anthropic interactions of the Seco de Palos and the area of the Pockmarks Field with special attention to fishing activity and the pressure it exerts on the marine environment.

• The information on the presence of key species for the conservation of the space has been updated and tools have been defined to assess the environmental impact generated by the various human activities on these key species in the SAC ‘Submerged Valleys of the Escarpe de Mazarrón, the Seco de Palos and the ‘field of pockmarks’.

• The pressures of fishing activity have been identified and quantified, with special attention to bottom trawling, artisanal and recreational activity, applying the conceptual framework based on the DPSIR (Driving Force -Pressure -State -Impact -Response) analysis, which has allowed the description of management and monitoring indicators for each of the states of the analysis. It is a basic tool for monitoring the conservation status of key elements (species and habitats) in the study area.

• Artisanal fishing has been analysed from two different approaches, as a key element in the conservation of the space, proposing fishing as a sustainable activity and threatened by other anthropic pressures; and as pressure on habitat and species.

• A pilot diagnosis has been carried out to characterize the pressure of recreational fishing, the results of which show a categorization and quantification of the extracted biomass. For this analysis, more than 70 surveys have been carried out with fishermen participating in the Open National Fishing Competition for the Bahía de Mazarrón, held in November 2019.

• Zoning proposals were made in the study area and more than 1,425 geographic information layers were created in the area (1,425 QGIS Layers in Raster files and 23 vector files included in the database). In addition, CAMONMAR3 information on the sighting of species, geology, bathymetries, water temperature was included in the GIS and the analysis of pressures in the area was deepened.

• Dissemination activities were carried out at congresses, in addition to informative actions to raise awareness of marine biodiversity and anthropic pressures to citizens, through the design of tools for marine environmental education such as materials for interpreting the marine environment and itineraries in the Port of Mazarrón and Águilas. In addition, the results have been transferred to managers of the study area, at national and regional level, through the GBIF organization (Global Biodiversity Information Infrastructure). On the other hand, the scientific results have generated numerous and valuable information to be published in international journals.

It should be noted that during the development of the project, there has been the collaboration of numerous actors such as managers of different public administrations, port authorities, fishermen, researchers, non-profit associations and society in general, and there has been fluid communication and exchange of information with different institutions, such as the Columbares association, INUAMA, Águilas City Council, Mazarrón City Council, Cartagena City Council, Mazarrón Fishing Club, GALPEMUR, GALP la Marina, Port Authority, IEO Madrid and the Fisheries Service of the Region of Murcia.