Pitiusas Islands (Balearics, Spain)
Why this site?
The Pitiuses Islands are in the Southwestern area of the Balearic promontory in the Western Mediterranean. The area is one of the best conserved areas in this part of the Mediterranean Basin with a great ecological importance due to the good status of conservation of the habitats despite of the tourism pressure among others. These natural values are protected through several protection figures such as Natura 2000 sites: SCA ES5310107 Tagomago Marine Area, SCA/SBPA Es Vedrá-Es ES00000078 Vendrell, Ses Salines Eivissa i Formentera Natural Park, SCA/SBPA Islotes de Poniente Eivissa.
The area has also a small scale fisheries presence (10 fishing boats) with a relevant social component. The Balear government created in 2015 a Monitoring Committee for the fishing management plan of jonquillo (Aphia minuta) in Mallorca and gerret (Spicara smaris) in Ibiza and Formentera islands under a co-management scheme that includes participation of fishing administration, fishers, researchers and NGOs. With a similar scheme, it was approved the Fishing Management Plan for Pitiuses in 2021. The creation of the NE coast of Ibiza-Tagomago Marine Reserve was approved in 2018 as an initiative of local small scale fishers and the support of local administration and NGOs like GEN-GOB and WWF. The Marine Reserve has a working group discussing the enlargement of the protected area.
All these initiatives are important for the Blue Connect project to learn on all these governance and co-management schemes and the effectiveness of the management in the protected areas, especially with the implication of fishing sector. The project will support the transference of experiences on active habitats restoration from other projects like LIFE ECOREST developed in Catalonia with a participatory governance approach.
Ecosystem characteristics
The Pitiuses islands have a great ecological importance due to their biodiversity and the good state of conservation of their key ecosystems, such as Posidonia oceanica meadows. The protection measures have favoured the recovery of fish stocks. An increase in the size and abundance of vulnerable species has been observed.
The key ecosystems present in the area we can find are the Posidonia oceanica meadows, in an excellent state of conservation. This habitat extends to a depth of 35 metres and cover large areas, especially in the Freus area. Other ecosystems include shallow meadows (rare in European waters). The shallow rocky areas are home to Cystoseira algal communities, which are indicators of excellent water quality. 35 different communities have been identified and 756 species have been counted in the benthic habitats.
Other key ecosystems are communities of Cymodocea nodosa, communities of phytophile algae, and communities of algae sciophiles and hemisciophiles, in rocky reefs, with rhodolite and coralligenous seabeds.
Challenges
The area is covered for different marine protected areas which gives an idea on their ecological importance but has also important pressures like massive tourism, coastal development or pollution. There is a need to improve the effectiveness management of MPAs along with an improved coordination and management between the several overlapping protection figures. Other important aspect is to improve surveillance of the area with the implementation of an effective governance scheme.
Identify potential areas for extending the integral reserve and strict protection of sensitive habitats such as gorgonian communities. Among the improvement of the regulation, it’s necessary to regulate maritime traffic and boat speeds.
Include socio-economic monitoring of the effects of the marine reserve of Tagomago is needed in the monitoring plan. Also to include mitigation measures in longline fisheries to reduce by-catch of birds such as shearwaters. Finally, the identification and prioritizing of degraded areas to be restore and recover their environmental services.
What will be demonstrated?
- Improvement with co-management schemes and cross-stakeholder collaboration
- Participatory identification and zoning for strict protection
- Restoration activities
- Enlargement of Tagomago Fishing Reserve
Activities to be
carried out
- Participation in co-management committee of jerret (Centracanthus cirrus)
- Participation in the Monitoring Committee of Fishing Management Plan of Pitiusas.
- Participation in the Stewardship Group of Pitiusas.
- Participation of the Working Group of Tagomago Fishing Reserve and the enlargement discussion of the Fishing Reserve
- Identification of strict protected areas (passive restoration) in the enlargement of the Tagomago Fishing Reserve.
- Identification of areas for active restoration of deep habitats in Pitiusas.
