This project aims to guarantee the conservation of the fartet in the Adra River (province of Almeria), in the Chícamo River (Murcia region) and in the Vinalopó River (Alicante).

This project aims to guarantee the conservation of the fartet in the Adra River (province of Almeria), in the Chícamo River (Murcia region) and in the Vinalopó River (Alicante).

To this end, it is planned to carry out actions aimed at recovering the current populations of this species and establishing new ones, through the creation and maintenance of refuge-habitats in the riverbeds. Specimens bred in captivity will also be released.

In addition, the project proposes to fight against all those aspects that have a negative impact on the survival of the fartet, such as the control of competing non-native species, the location of polluting discharges into rivers, the recovery of riverside vegetation and the control of possible modifications of the suitable habitat for this species.

Finally, environmental education and awareness measures will be implemented to stimulate a favourable attitude of the population in the area towards the conservation of this fish and the rivers where it lives.

The specific objectives are:

• To increase scientific knowledge, through the collection of qualitative and quantitative data and analysis, about the Aphanius iberus species and its habitat in the basins of the Adra, Chícamo and Vinalopó rivers.
• To increase viable populations of fartet in the basins of these rivers, by improving the habitat and reintroducing the species at selected points (rivers, irrigation ponds and ditches).
• To involve the population living in the surroundings of the river basins in the conservation of the fartet and its habitats, through the interpretation, awareness and dissemination of the ecological values of the fartet and the river ecosystem in general.
• To improve the state of the natural populations of fartet in terms of the critical situation in which they find themselves with respect to the extreme coexistence they suffer with predatory non-native species, which compete for the same habitat.
• To promote the biodiversity of the environment of this fish, intervening in favour of other groups of animal and plant species protected and associated with these places.