Line of action:

Status:

Execution date:

General Objective:

Execute and evaluate the feasibility of ecological restoration actions and mitigate the impacts of artisanal fishing in benthic communities dominated by gorgonians and soft corals.

Specific objectives:

• Mitigation of the impacts of artisanal fishing on populations of gorgonians and soft corals in marine protected areas.
• Monitoring of the active restoration of gorgonians and corals using underwater robotics.
• Transfer of knowledge to other fishermen’s guilds on the importance of gorgonian and soft coral restoration.
• Involvement of society in the restoration of gorgonians in marine protected areas and dissemination of the project.

1. Coordination meeting between scientists and fishermen.
2. Installation of aquariums for the maintenance of accidentally caught gorgonians and corals.
3. Collection and maintenance alive of gorgonians and soft corals.
4. Attachment of the accidentally caught deep gorgonian species to boulders and return to their habitat together with the soft corals from a boat.
5. Oceanographic campaign.
6. Analysis of the data obtained in the oceanographic campaign.
7. Evaluation of the data obtained in the oceanographic campaign.
8. Sampling with ROV.
9. Analysis and comparison of sexual products from restored and natural populations.
10. Evaluation of the data obtained in the analysis of sexual products.
11. Transects with ROV.
12. Analysis of the transects obtained with ROV.
13. Evaluation of the data obtained with the ROV.
14. Monitoring of transplanted shallow gorgonians.
15. Photographic sampling of transplanted shallow gorgonians.
16. Evaluation of the reproductive potential of transplanted shallow gorgonians.
17. Installation of aquariums for the maintenance of accidentally caught gorgonians and corals.
18. Collection and maintenance alive of gorgonians and soft corals.
19. Attachment of the accidentally caught deep gorgonian species to boulders and return to their habitat together with the soft corals from a boat.
20. School workshop for the care and maintenance of gorgonians.
21. Guided tours of the facilities.
22. Theoretical-practical educational workshop.
23. Dissemination of the project in newspapers and digital portals.
24. Dissemination of the project on social networks.
25. Printing and distribution of information material.
26. Final day of summary of the 5 years of the project.

The RESCAP V project is the fifth and final phase of the RESCAP project, funded in the calls of the Pleamar Program 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 of the Biodiversity Foundation, co-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The RESCAP V project highlights the close collaboration between scientists and fishermen, through which it has been possible to develop an innovative method of restoration of gorgonians and soft corals, having restored 1120 colonies in their natural environment this season, thus reaching more than 4,000 gorgonians restored in 5 years.

The results obtained are successful, as it has been observed that more than 80% of gorgonian colonies survive for a whole year after being transplanted and returned to the seabed. This fact has been demonstrated thanks to the use of state-of-the-art underwater robotics that monitor the restored population to verify that it is in a perfect state of conservation.

This fifth edition has included, for the first time, a knowledge transfer action in the Formentera fishermen’s guild, a pilot test in which more than 100 gorgonians have been restored thanks to the collaboration of only two fishermen out of the 14 belonging to the guild. Likewise, the presence of the project in the media, once again, has given great visibility to the study thanks to the appearance of both researchers and fishermen in 16 television and radio programs.