On March 14th and 15th, the meeting between the Capella del Carme and the Espai del Peix will be held.
The marine environment requires reaching consensus on strategic management in order to apply measures for its conservation in the face of a changing scenario. That is why Alive is organizing the Conference on Conservation and Exploitation of the Sea, which will be held in Palamós on March 14 and 15. On Friday morning, they will take place in the Capella del Carme, while in the afternoon the activity will move between the fish market and the Espai del peix. On Saturday, the activities will focus on the space around the Palamós Fishing Museum.
The objective of these conferences, which are now in their third edition, is to strengthen relationships and establish working synergies between the different agents who act on the coast; researchers, environmental educators, fishermen and professionals from different fields. And in this way, face the difficult challenges that occur at sea.
Several presentations have been prepared divided into 5 thematic blocks: marine research, marine protected areas, outreach and citizen science, tourism and infrastructures, and fisheries management.
Lluís Puig, Mayor of Palamós, will be in charge of opening the conference, which will feature the inaugural speech by Marc Vilahur, Director General of Environmental Policies and the Natural Environment. The conference has been divided into several blocks, the first of which will deal with research in the marine field.
In the first block, different researchers will speak. Neus Sanmartí, from the University of Barcelona (UB), will explain the ecological state of the Cymodocea nodosa meadow in the Bay of Roses. Marta Muñoz, from the University of Girona (UdG), will explain how climate change affects sardine populations on the Iberian Mediterranean coast. Cristina Llinares, also from the UB, will introduce those present to the marine biodiversity in the special conservation area of the Baix Empordà coast. And to close the block, the UB professor, Bernat Hereu, will present the study on the characterization of fish communities vulnerable to fishing on the Baix Empordà coast.
The second of the blocks is dedicated to protected marine areas, and will feature the participation of the UdG research group on the plumed cormorant as an emblematic species of protected areas, the coordinator of the GS Marí in Girona of the Rural Agents Corps, Albert Gonzàlez, to provide an overview of the resources allocated to the surveillance of protected marine areas in Girona, and finally Boris Weitzmann, who will explain the new concept of marine green areas.
In the third block of the conference, on citizen science and dissemination, there will be Sònia Lòpez, Veterinarian of the DARP, who will present the more social aspect of the Caretta a la vista project. Also Biosfera, with Arnau Sargatal as coordinator of the NaturaBegur project, will explain the citizen science scope of its project at the PEIN Muntanyes de Begur. Paula Pérez, from the Green Schools Network, will bring a new proposal to involve students in the preservation and management of natural heritage in a participatory way, the educational marine areas. And as a final presentation, also linked to the following Tourism block, the environmental educator Xavi Munill will present the ECOnàutic dissemination and awareness project.
As the fourth and final block of the morning, Anna Bonzano and the Palamós Fishing Museum will talk about a new line of tourism, fishing. And finally, researcher Carolina Martí will summarize the necessary change in beach management.
After the four blocks, attendees will move to see the Obrador, an innovative project of the Palamós brotherhood. The Espai del Peix, for its part, offers attendees a lunch of local fish tastings.
The afternoon will begin with a visit to the fish market, to continue at the Espai del Peix de Palamós with two presentations on the fisheries management block. The first, from the Catalan Association for Responsible Fishing, which from a recreational perspective explains how efforts and contributions are also made to ensure correct management. Next, the Palamós Brotherhood will review the changes it has encouraged to become a benchmark for good management.
Finally, the Director General of Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fisheries, Mr. Antoni Espanya, will conclude the day.
Saturday will be a fun and festive day. On the one hand, families will be able to enjoy the artisanal fishing workshop with Jaume Caball and Irene Álvarez de Quevedo and the children’s workshops of Biosfera on marine and terrestrial biodiversity and the human impacts that diminish the state of conservation of ecosystems . In addition, Submon will also participate with a talk about the RESILIA project that they have started this year, and which looks at conservation actions of Posidonia oceanica in marine Natura 2000 areas.
On Saturday afternoon, the audiovisual room of the Palamós Fishing Museum will host Roger Rovira’s documentary on the Sepia project and, afterwards, a discussion will open on the situation and actions for the sustainability of artisanal fishing.
At the same time, the Espai del Peix de Palamós is organizing two showcookings: Friday evening and Saturday at noon. These require prior registration on their website .
Registrations for Friday’s event, both in person and online, can be completed at the beginning of February on the website www.alivefund.org .
