The MITICAP Project, which seeks to mitigate the impact of artisanal fishing in the Cap de Creus (Girona), starts its second phase after a successful first year. The initiative is a collaboration between the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM-CSIC) and the fishermen guilds of Port de la Selva and Cadaqués. It has the support of the Fundación Biodiversidad from the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition.

Images recorded by ROV (vehicles with cameras operated by remote control) in depths of about 100 meters deep (MITICAP)A joint work between scientists and fishermen aimed at reducing the impact of artisanal fishing in the marine habitat and to lessen bycatch. By incorporating structural variations in the fishing gear, the team will develop innovative methodologies to increase the survival of discarded captures on board.

The project has also led to basic training courses on the controlling of Remotely Operated submarine Vehicles (ROV) for the people involved.

The team will develop innovative methodologies to increase the survival of discarded captures on board

MITICAP 2 is the second phase of the initiative, which began in 2018 and has obtained outstanding results. MITICAP 1 tried to improve some fishing gear, such as the ‘nansa’ (the Catalan word for a traditional fish trap) for octopus fishing and the “trammel”, whose impact on the ecosystem is high, for lobster and rockfish. To reduce the impact of the trammel on the bentonite communities, which are the most harmed by it, scientists and fishermen made 9 series of experimental fishing with the traditional fish trap as an alternative.

In addition, in this first phase the scientists observed that 90% of the seafloors studied showed a good degree of conservation compared to other places of the Spanish Mediterranean continental platform. Likewise, the endemic Mediterranean sea fan Spinimuricea klaverenii was detected for the first time on Spanish coasts.