NATURA 2000 Day Celebration at Asinara National Park

May 21, 2017 is the day the EU has designated as a 'Natura 2000 Day' to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Habitat Directive and European LIFE Programming. To celebrate the Natura 2000 Day, Asinara's National Park and Marine Protected Area has organized, on Sunday 21 May, the release of a turtle rescued and cared for in the Marine Animal Recovery Center of the Park.

May 21, 2017 is the day the EU has designated as a 'Natura 2000 Day' to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Habitat Directive and European LIFE Programming.

The ultimate purpose of the Habitat Directive is to maintain biodiversity through the conservation of natural and semi-natural habitats and wildlife and flora.

To this end, European LIFE programming is an important funding instrument for implementing conservation policies based on European directives, namely the Habitats Directive.

To celebrate the Natura 2000 Day, Asinara National Park and Marine Protected Area has organized, on Sunday, May 21, the release of a turtle recovered and cared for in the Marine Animal Recovery Center of the Park.

Asinara National Park is a partner of the TARTALIFE LIFE12 NAT/ IT/000937 project, funded by the European Union through the LIFE + NATURA 2012 fund and co-funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry - Directorate General for Fisheries and the Marche Region.

The project aims to safeguard marine turtles through the reduction of mortality caused by fishing.

In this sense, the next Sunday event will take on particular value as a turtle retrieved in the waters of Bastia (Corsica) will be released due to the ingestion of a fishing hook.

It is also worth mentioning the importance of fishermen's collaboration in reporting any accidental turtle-catching event. Collaboration that is growing further thanks to the Tartalife project.

The turtle, called Mara, has been operated and extracted from the hook that had stuck to the esophagus. After a period of stay in the structures of the Asinara Recovery Center and thanks to the daily care of CRAMA staff, the turtle is now rehabilitated and ready to return.

The release will take place on 21 May at 12.30 am from the beach of Ossario (about 15-20 minutes walk from Cala Reale).

objective

reduction of sea turtle mortality in the professional fishing

project in brief

The conservation of Caretta caretta, a priority species included in App. II/IV of the Habitat Directive and protected in various international Conventions, has been representing a strategic issue for the whole Mediterranean basin, with professional fishing being the main threat for the survival of marine turtles: every year about 130000 turtles can be accidentally caught accidentally in the Mediterranean.

The project TartaLife, involving all 15 Italian regions overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, aims at reducing:
- bycatches caused by pelagic longline, bottom trawl and fixed nets by disseminating technical innovations of the fishing gears;
- post-capture mortality through trainings for fishermen and strengthening the marine turtles First Aid/Rescue Centres

TartaLife project

Life+ programme

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value.

LIFE began in 1992 and to date there have been four complete phases of the programme (LIFE I: 1992-1995, LIFE II: 1996-1999, LIFE III: 2000-2006 and LIFE+: 2007-2013). During this period, LIFE has co-financed some 3954 projects across the EU, contributing approximately €3.1 billion to the protection of the environment.

Life+ programme