UNDERSTANDING MEDITERRANEAN MULTI-TAXA ‘BYCATCH’ OF VULNERABLE SPECIES & TESTING MITIGATION – A COLL

7TH MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE ON MARINE TURTLES TETOUAN/ MOROCCO 2022

BOOK OF ABSTRACT

TH

TH

18 -21 OCTOBER 2022/ TETOUAN, MOROCCO

1

Book of Abstract

7TH MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE ON MARINE TURTLES, TETOUAN, MOROCCO 2022

Book of Abstract 7th Mediterranean Conference on Marine Turtles, Tetouan, Morocco 2022 ATOMM, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, BP 2121, Tétouan Morocco +212661953689 aksissou@yahoo.fr

PRESIDENT OF CONFERENCE Mustapha Aksissou (Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Morocco)

CONFERENCE SECRETARY Wafae Benhardouze (Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Morocco)

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE -Abderrahmane Merzouki (UAE, Morocco) -Ahmed Lamarti (UAE, Morocco) -Ahmed Taheri (UCD, Morocco) - Anass Louah (UAE, Morocco) - Assia Bouzerki (UAE, Morocco) - Bilal Mghili (UAE, Morocco) - Bouchra Trari (UAE, Morocco) - Boutaina Belqat (UAE, Morocco) - El Hassan Sakar (UAE, Morocco) - Fahd Darasi (UAE, Morocco) - Kawtar Kettani (UAE, Morocco)

- Majida El Alami (UAE, Morocco) -Mohamed Keznine (UAE, Morocco) -Mohamed Libiad (UAE, Morocco) -Mohamed Rami (UAE, Morocco) -Mohamed Rida Derdabi (UAE, Morocco) -Mustapha Aksissou (UAE, Morocco) -Nard Bennas (UAE, Morocco) -Rabia Ajana (UAE, Morocco) -Soumia Fahd (UAE, Morocco) -Wafae Benhardouze (UAE, Morocco) -Younes Saoud (UAE, Morocco)

STEERING COMMITTEE -Lobna Ben Nakhla (UNEP MAP-RAC/SPA) -Mustapha Aksissou (University Abdelmalek Essaadi) -Manjula Tiwari (NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service) -Nadia Saporito (Bern Convention)

HONORARY COMMITTEE - Bouchta El Moumni (President of University Abdelmalek Essaadi) - Hinde Cherkaoui (Vice President of University Abdelmalek Essaadi) - Jamal Eddine Benhayoun (Vice President of University Abdelmalek Essaadi) - Abdellatif Moukrim (Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan) - Noura Aknin (Vice Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan) - Ahmed Atlamsani (Vice Dean of Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan) - Mohammed Malouli Idrissi (INRH, Head Tanger Center)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE - MUSTAPHA AKSISSOU (ABDELMALEK ESSAÂDI UNIVERSITY, MOROCCO) - BOJAN LAZAR (UNIVERSITY OF PRIMORSKA, SLOVENIA) - DANIELA FREGGI (LAMPEDUSA TURTLE RESCUE CENTER, ITALY) - FLEGRA BENTIVEGNA (ZOOLOGICAL STATION ANTON DOHRN, ITALY) - ABDULMAULA HAMZA (UNIVERSITY OF TRIPOLI, LIBYA) - JESÚS TOMÁS (UNIVERSITY OF VALENCIA, SPAIN) - IMED JRIBI (UNIVERSITY OF SFAX, TUNISIA) - OGUZ TURKOZAN (ADNAN MENDERES UNIVERSITY, TURKEY) - SANDRA HOCHSCHEID (ZOOLOGICAL STATION ANTON DOHRN, ITALY) - WAFAE BENHARDOUZE (ABDELMALEK ESSAÂDI UNIVERSITY, MOROCCO) - YAKUP KASKA (PAMUKKALE UNIVERSITY, TURKEY) - ALIKI PANAGOPOULOU (ARCHELON, THE SEA TURTLE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF GREECE)

TRAVEL GRANT CHAIR

Wafae Benhardouze (ATOMM – Association de Protection des Tortues Marines au Maroc)

3

Book of Abstract

7TH MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE ON MARINE TURTLES, TETOUAN, MOROCCO 2022

POSTER PRESENTATIONS SESSION 1: Threats

POSTER PRESENTATIONS SESSION 1: Threats

UNDERSTANDING MEDITERRANEAN MULTI-TAXA ‘BYCATCH’ OF VULNERABLE SPECIES & TESTING MITIGATION – A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH (THE MEDBYCATCH PROJECT) Rae V.1, Andreanidou.K1 1MEDASSET-Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, 1c Licavitou St., 106 72 Athens, Greece

Consisting of 21 partners, the MAVA funded MedBycatch project, overall goal is to provide knowledge, skills and tools to reduce the impact of selected fishing gears, specifically the incidental capture of vulnerable species and habitats. The project also supports regional and national policy development aimed at promoting effective conservation measures and sustainable fisheries. Phase 1 (2017 – 2020) focussed on the establishment of national observer teams, led by National Focal Points for Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye, for the harmonised collection of data. The GFCM/FAO protocol (Monitoring the incidental catch of vulnerable species in Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries: Methodology for data collection) was applied for on-board observations, portbased questionnaires and fishers selfsampling, targeting trawl, longline, net and purse seine fishing gears. During Phase 2 (2020 – 2022), the project expanded to include Italy and Croatia, and continued the observer programme, but primarily focussed on the trialling of Bycatch Reduction Devices

(BRD) and supporting Bycatch National Strategies. In Phase 1, 50 observers completed in collaboration with fishers, 1,503 on-board observations and 5,392 port-based questionnaires. The data revealed, as analysed and presented by our NFP’s that from all the individuals bycaught, elasmobranchs were the most commonly taxa recorded (av. 97.67%, n = 12,564), followed by sea turtles (av.

1.83%, n = 235), sea birds (av. 0.41%, n = 53) and marine mammals (av. 0.09%, n = 12). In Phase 2, BRD’s are being trialled for the bottom trawlers in Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye, with grids and/ or spatiotemporal measures; for longlines (pelagic and demersal) in Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and Türkiye with circle and J hooks and spatial-temporal fishing changes; for static nets in Croatia, Tunisia and Türkiye with fishing gear adaptations, spatial-temporal measures, Green LED and UV lights; and for purse seiners in Morocco with the use of pingers.

SEA TURTLE BYCATCH BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF FISHERIES AROUND AGADIR,MOROCCO Touaf.M Departement of Biology, Faculty of Science, University Abdelmalek Essaadi Tetouan 93002, Morocco

The bycatch of sea turtle weather in industrial or artisanal fisheries has become a serious problem worldwide.

Recently, bycatch has being increasingly receive attention due to the significant impact it causes on these threatened species. So far, information on sea turtle bycatch around Agadir is limited. This study aims to assess sea turtle bycatch in industrial (longliners, purse-seiners and trawlers) and artisanal fisheries in Moroccan water especially around Agadir. Bycatch was examined by collecting information from fishermen on sea turtle bycatch through interviewbased approach, fishermen were asked to answer detailed questionnaires in the

main port of Agadir, only one fisherman per vessel was interviewed mainly the captain. In all the interviews, fishermen were asked to consider sea turtle bycatch only during the previous fishing year 2021.

Estimates of obtained by the present results showed that the majority of sea turtle caught are loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta, with only a low percentage of leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, during the year 2021. This study provided us general information about the status of sea turtle bycatch around Agadir revealing a widespread impact of fisheries on sea turtle.

60

Understanding Mediterranean multi-taxa bycatch of vulnerable species and testing mitigation – MedBycatch Consisting of 23 partners, the MAVA funded MedBycatch project overall goal, is to provide knowledge, skills and tools to reduce the impact of selected fishing gears, specifically the incidental capture of vulnerable species and habitats. The project also supports regional and national policy development aimed at promoting effective conservation measures and sustainable fisheries.

Phase 1 (2017 – 2020) focused on the establishment of national observer teams, led by National Focal Points for Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye, for the harmonised collection of data applying the GFCM/FAO protocol (Monitoring the incidental catch of vulnerable species in Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries: Methodology for data collection) for on-board observations, port-based questionnaires and fishers self-sampling, targeting trawl, longline, net and purse seine fishing gears.

Phase 2 (2020 – 2022), the project expanded to include Italy and Croatia, and continued the National observer programmes in four countries. Primarily focus was on the trialling of Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRD) and informing and supporting Bycatch National Strategies.  4 National Observer teams  46 Ports surveyed  3,638 On-board Observations  Over 12,100 Port-Based Questionnaires  8 Mitigations tools tested in 5 Countries

 3 National Observer teams trained and established consisting of 50 observers  36 Ports surveyed  1, 503 On-board Observations  5, 392 Port-Based Questionnaires

The data & the mitigation trials presented in this poster, were analysed, compiled and implemented under the supervision and coordination of the National Bycatch Focal Points of: Morocco, Sana El Arraf & Mohammed Malouli Idrissi; Tunisia, Mohamed Mourad Ben Amor & Mohamed Nejmeddine Bradai; Türkiye, Dr. Meltem Ok and Dr. Gokhan Gokce. Only the data pertaining to sea turtles is displayed.

Tunisia: Sea Turtle Bycatch Numbers (2018 2019) 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 GSA12 GSA 13 GSA 14

Morocco: Sea Turtle Bycatch Numbers (2018 - 2019) 8 6 4 2

GSA 03

Trawlers 3

longliners 0

Small Scale Vessel 10 17 47

# Sea Annual Est Gear turtles Fishing Bycatch Individuals % Probability of GSA Type recorded Days (D) Rate (T) Caught by Vessel capture by Vessel Grp (N) Grp (I) 12 OTB 5 714 0.007 44 0.00010867 12 SSV 20 222 0.045 8430 2.38893E-05 13 OTB 40 833 0.048 532 0.000430793 13 SSV 17 370 0.046 7293 2.88238E-05 14 OTB 25 962 0.026 872 7.72038E-05 14 SSV 47 1175 0.040 38839 4.15846E-06

10

0

Trawlers 5 40 25

Purse-seiners 3

GSA 03

GSA 3 3

GSA Species Focus

Annual Est Gear # Sea turtles Fishing Bycatch Individuals % Probability of capture Type recorded (N) Days (D) Rate (T) Caught by Vessel Grp

by Vessel Grp (I) OTB 3 0.015 2146 0.000026 PS 3 0.009 123 0.00007

GSA Species Focus Fishing Gear Longline 3 Elasmobranchs & Sea Turtles Elasmobranchs & Sea Turtles Trawlers

Fishing Gear

Caretta caretta Dermersal Longline 12 & 13 Caretta caretta Trammel Nets

Mitigation Measure Circle Hooks Bycatch Reduction Grid

All Species Trawlers Caretta caretta Trawlers 14 Caretta caretta Dermersal longline Caretta caretta Gillnets

Mitigation Measure Changes to configuration & materials.

Circle Vs J Hooks Bait type Reduced soak time Increased hanging Change in Twine thickness & filament type Bycatch Reduction Device Spatial- Temporal measures Spatial- Temporal measures Alternative Bait use Reduction in Soak time Spatial- Temporal Measures

#

Türkiye: Sea Turtle Bycatch Numbers (2018 2019) 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

GSA 22 GSA 24

Trawlers

PL (1-10m)

0 41

29 5

PL (1050m) 0 0

PL (50100m) 0 0

PL (>100m) 0 0

GSA GSA 22 24 24

Gear # Sea turtles Fishing Bycatch Rate Annual Est Individuals % Probability of Type recorded (N) Days (D) (T) Caught by Vessel Grp (I) capture by Vessel Grp PL* 29 1346 0.021545319 10559 0.000004 OTB 41 73 0.561643836 12207 0.002584 PL* 5 578 0.008650519 1834 0.000004 * Data collected from Port-Based questionnaires only during Phase 1

GSA Species Focus

Fishing Gear

22

Elasmobranchs & Caretta caretta Longline Sea turtles Trammel Nets

24

Elasmobranchs & Caretta caretta Trawlers

Croatia

Italy

17

Species Focus Sea Turtles & Elasmobranchs

18

Sea Turtles & Elasmobranchs

Mitigation Measure 8 - 9 - 12 – 16 Circle Hooks UV Lights & Green LED Lights Bycatch Reduction Grid: 40 & 95mm / 45 & 135 degree angle

The Partnership

Funded by

Fishing gear

Mitigation Measure

Gillnets

Soak Time

Longline (Swordfish)

Circle Hooks Fishing Strategy (Temporal)