Press release

Dolphin-fishing interactions: -50% with the use of acoustic deterrents

in gillnet fisheries

Significantly reduced interaction rate in the Adriatic thanks to the spread of alternative fishing gear such as pots and creels

Dolphins' habituation to emitted sounds: smart pingers optimised using artificial intelligence are ready

This is what emerges from the final assessment of the activities of Life Delfi, a project co-financed

by the European Union's LIFE Programme and coordinated by CNR-IRBIM, which will be presented at the final conference scheduled for 11 December in Ancona at the Mole Vanvitelliana

Over 500 fishermen and 200 boats were involved in the project to test 180 acoustic deterrents, 400 visual deterrents and 900 pots; 90 operators were also trained

for 8 rescue teams (rescue teams for cetaceans in distress)

Reducing interactions between dolphins and fishermen with the aim of achieving a possible coexistence. For too long these splendid marine mammals and professional fishing have been competing in the same areas and for the same reason: the catch. And with serious consequences in terms of biodiversity conservation and economic consequences for the professional fishing sector. Surveys speak for themselves: an average of around 200 cetaceans beached each year. Of these, many show signs of interaction with fishing activities (ingestion of pieces of net or bycatch), as evidenced by the results of dozens of necropsies conducted by the University of Padua. But these interactions between fishing and dolphins also lead to economic losses, estimated by the project at between one thousand and ten thousand euro per year per boat in some areas. Fishing with so-called flying nets (used in the Adriatic to catch anchovy and sardines) has been found to be the most risky practice for dolphins, in terms of possible bycatch, along with gillnets (especially in spring and summer) used in many areas in Italy. This is why the team of the European Life Delfi project - co-financed by the EU LIFE Programme and coordinated by CNR-IRBIM together with partners including Legambiente - - has been working for the past five years by conducting scientific research, monitoring, training and raising awareness among various stakeholders, and citizen science activities, providing a great contribution to the international scientific community and Italian and European policy makers. Acoustic bollards and Artificial Intelligence. The project focused on fishermen along the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea, including the Croatian shore, Sardinia and Sicily: more than 500 fishermen were involved in the various activities, more than 1,000 days at sea aboard 200 boats to test 180 interactive acoustic bollards known as pingers. The result was encouraging: the phenomenon of interactions was halved (-50%) with the use of the devices while fishing with gillnets, all without negatively impacting catch rates.With innovative research, the project has succeeded in developing, first in the world, smart pingers based on artificial intelligence to overcome the potential risk of dolphins becoming accustomed to the sound emitted by traditional devices (resulting in reduced effectiveness) and to reduce noise pollution at sea. During Life Delfi, the CNR-IRBIM of Ancona, in collaboration with the Marche Polytechnic University, developed new and more effective devices capable of perceiving the presence of dolphins in the marine environment through the analysis of their acoustic emissions, analysed by means of artificial intelligence. The new pingers are therefore only able to activate in the event of the actual presence of dolphins, thus minimising the acoustic impact on the marine environment. The first prototypes have already been tested and will soon be disseminated to fishermen. Visual deterrents (42% fewer interactions with gillnets) and alternative creels (interactions reduced to zero during their use). The solutions proposed by Life Delfi did not stop at the distribution of acoustic deterrents. Fishermen were also given 400 visual deterrents, such as UV LED lamps and other types of lights, used to make the fishing nets more visible to the dolphins, thus reducing the likelihood of interaction. In fact, the project has shown that relations between dolphins and trawls are not limited to the attempt to feed on already caught fish (depredation) but also have a playful component (dolphins seem to literally play with the nets). In addition, in the Adriatic Sea and Sicily, the lamps were also effective in enhancing the catch of white shrimps and prawns. In the course of the activities, alternative, more selective and environmentally friendly equipment was tested and proposed to fishermen, such as new types of creels (900 currently in use in various parts of Italy), thanks to which the interaction rate was reduced to zero as well as preventing the depredation of the catch.   Stranded cetaceans: rescue team and new diagnostic protocol Life Delfi, thanks to the support of its partner the University of Padua, has obtained two important results: from an operational point of view, a network of rescue teams, 8 rescue teams of 90 operators - including Coast Guard personnel - able to intervene in the event of stranded cetaceans or cetaceans in difficulty at sea; from a scientific point of view, a new diagnostic protocol to define interactions with fishing, a tool created in collaboration with the Italian and Croatian zooprophylactic institutes and the C.re.di.ma. adopted at national and international level. In addition, photo-identification activities carried out by all partners in the pilot areas made it possible to catalogue and study the behavioural habits of more than 1,300 cetaceans. Dolphin watching. In the engagement and awareness-raising process, fishermen were involved - as part of the actions coordinated by the University of Siena together with the Protected Marine Areas and environmentalist associations that are partners in the project - in 18 training courses to spread the eco-friendly practice of dolphin watching, i.e. the observation of dolphins at sea, which in areas with a high tourist flow can become a real source of income. Sustainable dolphin watching was illustrated and adopted by 74 fishermen, while a total of 500 participants attended the courses, which were also attended by other maritime operators. The Code of Conduct signed and adopted by 160 fishermen. The document, preparatory to the launch of a ‘Dolphin Safe’ label for fish, outlines best practices for conserving the biodiversity of the seas and maintaining the long-term viability of fishing businesses. The Code lists the alternative measures that can be deployed, such as creels or dolphin watchig, and the sustainable management models tested by the project, e.g. procedures in case of incidental catches to minimise damage to animals and release them safely. Guidelines on compensation measures under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEAMPA). The document, which was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF), aims to suggest to the Managing Authority a series of interventions, based on the best scientific knowledge acquired during the project, that favour the reduction of interactions, such as mitigation and diversification measures. The Guidelines may - also after the end of the project - support the activity of regional and national authorities in promoting and supporting the protection of some sensitive species, and provide elements to identify new protected areas, also in line with the requirements of the European Biodiversity Strategy. Awareness-raising: Marine Ranger APP and the documentary. The citizen science activity involved hundreds of students and tourists in the different pilot areas of the project who were engaged in 14 bioblitzes using the Marine Ranger APP (developed by the Croatian Blue World Institute): more than a thousand sightings were reported to the app contributing to monitoring and scientific research. More than 250 events were dedicated to raising awareness among the general public, while 70 national and international meetings were dedicated to the scientific community. More than 100 environmental education workshops were organised by Legambiente in Italian schools with the ‘Dolphin as a friend’ route and on board the Goletta Verde (which in 2022 was renamed the ‘Dolphin schooner’), while the documentary ‘Life DELFI, a conflict to be solved’, made by director Roberto Lo Monaco and narrated by science popularizer Barbascura X, was presented and screened in many international contexts (FAO-Fish Forum), winning several film competitions. In 2024, it was also screened during ‘AntropoCine’, a festival on sustainability under the patronage of the Rome Film Festival. ‘We are very satisfied with the results achieved by the actions of the Life Delfi project, despite the difficulties encountered during these five years of work, not least the covid and the high fuel costs generated by the war events, which obviously generated other emergencies for fishermen. Despite these difficulties, we managed to bring concrete solutions to the professional fishing world to reduce the phenomenon of interactions with dolphins. We close the project with great news: with Life Delfi and the collaboration of the Marche Polytechnic University, we will disseminate smart pingers, acoustic deterrents based on artificial intelligence, trying to lower the frequency of interaction between dolphins and fishing nets. This is a brand new and pioneering solution, so much so that we have already been contacted by several companies from all over the world. A big thank you goes to the partners and to all those who have taken part in Life Delfi's activities by making their fundamental contribution,’ says Alessandro Lucchetti of CNR-IRBIM, coordinator of Life Delfi. ‘Life Delfi has been a very important project, not only because it has been able to field innovative activities, also from a technological point of view, but because it has contributed to achieving concrete conservation objectives for sensitive species, collaborating with the fishing world in the promotion of sustainable practices; it has raised the awareness of economic operators, institutions and citizens; and has proposed measures to regional and national administrations for a blue transition and for the achievement of European policies, such as that of having 30% of the territory protected on land and at sea by 2030 and favouring the achievement and maintenance of the good environmental status of the marine ecosystem in accordance with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC,’ says Federica Barbera of Legambiente's biodiversity office