News

The SATURN project team - anti-trawling structures to defend the Marine Protected Area of ​​the Sinis Peninsula from illegal trawling - met the students of the De Castro in Oristano in recent days.  

During the meeting with the students, the MEDSEA sea projects manager, the marine biologist Francesca Frau, together with Nicoletta Galisai  from the Flag Pescando Sardegna Centro Association and Giorgio Massaro from the IAS CNR Center of Torregrande told the various stages of the SATURN project. 

From the importance of marine habitats and ecosystems, such as the Posidonia oceanica meadows and coral reefs, to the irreversible damage that bottom trawling can cause to the seabeds of marine protected areas, hence the joint action of fishing, research and environment to prevent these threats with SATURN.  

From the initial phase of involving the local fishing community to the design of anti-trawl systems to protect sensitive marine habitats and small-scale artisanal fishing, up to the recent installation of bollards off the Costa del Sinis, which will be followed by monitoring activities which aim to detect any improvements in terms of fish restocking in the area affected by the anti-trawling intervention. The analyses will be performed in the coming weeks by the IAS CNR of Torregrande. 

The De Castro students were also presented with the underwater drone, capable of monitoring the seabed and detecting the state of health of the Posidonia oceanica marine meadows, which are essential for guaranteeing the supply of oxygen and the shelter necessary for the survival of marine fauna and different species.  

The experts, from the fields of marine biology, the environment and research and from the fishing industry, reaffirmed the need for collective and interdisciplinary action to protect the sea, its ecosystems, as well as its biodiversity.