{"id":97861633,"date":"2019-02-08T11:59:16","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T10:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacion-biodiversidad.es\/programa_pleamar\/drago-improvement-of-the-ecological-efficiency-of-trawling-in-the-sci-canal-de-menorca\/"},"modified":"2019-02-08T11:59:16","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T10:59:16","slug":"drago-improvement-of-the-ecological-efficiency-of-trawling-in-the-sci-canal-de-menorca","status":"publish","type":"programa_pleamar","link":"https:\/\/fundacion-biodiversidad.es\/en\/programa_pleamar\/drago-improvement-of-the-ecological-efficiency-of-trawling-in-the-sci-canal-de-menorca\/","title":{"rendered":"DRAG\u00d3 – Improvement of the ecological efficiency of trawling in the SCI Canal de Menorca"},"content":{"rendered":"

Description: <\/strong><\/p>\n

The impacts of trawling, direct due to the passage of gear on the seabed and indirect (e.g. discards and fossil fuel consumption), place this fishery among the least ecologically efficient in the Mediterranean. In addition, the overfishing of the resources it exploits has placed it in a situation of difficult sustainability, not only ecologically but also economically. <\/p>\n

In the Balearic Islands, with no river discharges and pronounced oligotrophy, the transparency of the water and the penetration of light allows the growth of algae up to 80-90 m deep. For this reason, the calcareous and soft red algae bottoms, with a high benthic biomass of non-commercial species, are widely distributed on the continental shelf and coincide with trawl fisheries, which generates discards of up to 75% of the catch. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate technological improvements in the nets and innovations in fishing practices, to improve the selectivity of this fishery. The reduction of the direct impact of trawling gear must also be addressed, introducing doors that do not contact the bottom. These measures could be complemented by changes in the treatment on board of the capture of species of no commercial interest, to avoid damaging them as much as possible and returning them to the sea with a chance of survival. <\/p>\n

To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the following actions will be carried out, in addition to the transversal ones such as dissemination and management of the project:<\/p>\n