Acronym MIGRATE
Category
Fisheries
Title Conservation Status and potential Sites of Community Interest for Tursiops truncatus and Caretta caretta in Malta Programme LIFE
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source European Coordinator Carmen Mifsud Coordinator email lifeprojectmigrate@mepa.org.mt
Coordinator institution
MEPA - Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Malta)
Institutions involved
NA - KAI Marine Services (Spain) ,
Start year 2012 End year 2016 Funding (€) € 964,006 Website http://lifeprojectmigrate.com/ Summary Many marine species, including cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) and turtles are becoming increasingly endangered; in an effort to reverse this trend, numerous regional and EU obligations as well as various other international treaties have been set, allowing for the protection of these species and their relevant habitats. A clear example of this is the EC Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43EEC), that lists the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta & the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, as species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). The sizes of the populations of these two species in Maltese waters and the areas that are essential to them are as yet unknown. Nonetheless, it is considered that Malta may provide a strategic position for the conservation of these flagship species, not only because of its central position in the middle of the Mediterranean dividing the eastern from the western basin, but also because of the presence of habitats that are important to at least some of the life stages of these animals. Malta may also provide good aggregation spots in near and/or offshore areas for juvenile turtles. This project's main aim is to address these information gaps, by obtaining data on these two particular species, their migratory routes, feeding grounds and aggregation areas, so as to permit the evaluation of their conservation status and contribute towards the identification of areas essential to their life and reproduction. These sites will be proposed as Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) for eventual inclusion in the Natura 2000 network. It is expected that other species of cetaceans and turtles and notable marine fauna will also be encountered during the boat-based observations and surveys. While the project does not specifically target these other species, their sightings and related observations will also be recorded and mapped. This will maximise the project's value, contributing towards narrowing current knowledge gaps relating to the Maltese marine environment. This will also contribute towards meeting another obligation under the EU Habitats Directive; that of assessing conservation status of migratory Annex IV species.
Keywords
Cetaceans;
Biology;
Dolphins;
Sea turtles;
Marine Region
70
Malta Island (GSA 15)
1
Marine Region Map
