The reason LIFE DELFI was born

The interaction of cetaceans with fisheries is a growing concern within the international scientific community. As in the Mediterranean, fish stocks are generally declining, dolphins are increasingly in conflict with different fishing activities. The unintentional catch during fishing operations (so-called “bycatch”), the depredation of fish from the nets and the indirect interactions with fishing activities are of great concern since they may cause negative economic consequences for the fisheries concerned.

The interaction of cetaceans with fisheries is a growing concern within the international scientific community. As in the Mediterranean, fish stocks are generally declining, dolphins are increasingly in conflict with different fishing activities. The unintentional catch during fishing operations (so-called “bycatch”), the depredation of fish from the nets and the indirect interactions with fishing activities are of great concern since they may cause negative economic consequences for the fisheries concerned.
Negative interactions are frequent in the Mediterranean small scale coastal fisheries operating with passive nets. Common bottlenose dolphins are attracted by the fish already caught in the nets and when they try to feed on these easy preys, they can damage gillnets, trammel nets and spoil or subtract fish from the nets.
Several studies have reported consistent reduction of catch caused by dolphins along Southern Italy and Adriatic Sea, where fishery plays an important social and economic role.

Attempts to prey on fish from nets can cause dolphins to become entangled, with lethal consequences. Furthermore, interactions with coastal artisanal fishing, can cause direct damage to the nets by stealing benthic fish from the net, damaging and reducing catch, and disturbing fishing operations.
On the other hand, dolphins’ injuries are quite common. These damages cause negative reactions of fishermen, who attempt to deter dolphins from the net or to kill them, often using harmful methods such as harpoons, guns, or dynamite.
Although dolphins benefit from taking fish entangled in trammel nets, the association with trammel nets can be dangerous because it exposes the dolphins to fishermen reaction
In this framework, Life DELFI project, co-financed by the European Community under the Life programme, aims at reducing the interactions of dolphins with fishing activities, with the objective of safeguarding the species and limiting the economic damage suffered by fishermen.

Implementing the project

The main aim of DELFI is the reduction of dolphins mortality caused by fishing activities. This will be achieved through a reduction of interactions between dolphin and professional fishing in several areas, both in Italy and Croatia, by innovative technical solutions related to fishing gears and the development of additional economic activities.
In particular, the implementation of the project actions will allow to reach ambitious outcomes, such as:

  • Reduction dolphin-fishing interaction through the experimentation and the diffusion of new Bycatch Reducer Devices and alternative fishing method
  • Reduction of intentional killing episodes and fishermen’s economic losses, due to the fish spoiled or subtracted from nets and to the damages caused by dolphins to fishing gear
  • New generation pingers, alternative gears (pots) and visual deterrent produced and disseminated, involving at least 150 vessels and 350 fishermen
  • Training courses for dolphin watching operators
  • Information, advice and technical assistance service addressed to the fishermen, to support them about funding opportunities, the use of deterrent systems and the transition from fishing activity to dolphin watching.

Furthermore:

  • a Dolphin-friendly Code of conduct will be prepared and adopted
  • Dolphin Rescue Teams will be activated
  • advocacy activity to promote the introduction of compensation measure at regional level for fishermen damaged by dolphins will be carried out
  • the scientific data collected during the concrete actions will be provided to public administration with the aim of fostering the designation of new Natura 2000 marine sites
  • a Dolphin WatchApp will be released
  • a communication campaign for citizens named “A dolphin as a friend” will be launched

The target areas of the project have been chosen on the basis of several studies that reported both the presence of dolphins and the problem of a high mortality rate of these species, due to interactions with the fishing industry.

The project areas (including 4 Marine Protected Areas) will be: Punta Campanella, Egadi Islands, Tuscany coast (Grosseto area), Aeolian Islands, Tavolara Island, Veneto coast (north of the Po Delta), Torre del Cerrano (Abruzzo coast), Central Adriatic (Marche coast), Istria and Cres in Croatia.

The actions

Life DELFI will last 5 years (from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2024) and includes: dolphin research and monitoring activities in the target areas, the involvement of the fishing industry (e.g. participation to training activities about new and sustainable fishing methods), awareness campaigns and media relations activities to involve a wider audience.

More in detail:

  • Action A1 and A2: An executive plan with detailed information on how, where and when to implement activities will be prepared. A contingency plan to manage the risks will also be provided. A desk research will identify areas and periods involving dolphin-gear interaction as well as good practices and handling procedures tested in other countries to reduce these interactions.
  • Action A3: Interaction with fishing activities could be detected through details and standardized procedures both on alive free-ranging and stranded animals. ACCOBAMS and International Whaling Commission (IWC) best practices and protocols aimed to harmonize monitoring efforts will be adopted and optimized within national guidelines and spread among all the partners and stakeholders involved in the project.
    An interview based approach will be applied to collect additional information on key areas and periods of dolphins presence.
  • Action C.1: New generation pingers will be mounted on the nets of Italian and croatian vessels to reduce interactions with dolphins.
  • Action C.2: visual deterrents developed to discourage approaches by dolphins; they will be mounted on the nets in some intervention areas.
  • Action C.3: Small-scale fisheries operating mainly with passive nets play an important role especially within MPAs, supporting local economy. This action will stimulate the use of alternative gears
  • Action C.4: 18 training courses for dolphin watching operators, mainly addressed to fishermen will be organized. Dolphin watching activities will contribute to additional economic revenues for fishermen, thus reducing the targeted conflicts.
  • Action C.5: 8 information desks will be opened to inform fishermen on the new opportunities provided by National or EU funds financing the use of technical mitigation measures and alternative low impacting fishing gears.
  • Action C. 6: a Code of conduct addressing the problem of interaction between dolphins and fishing activities will be drafted through a participatory path with fisherman, based on the good practices identified in the preparatory actions. This action also foresees a special label dolphin safe for fishermen.
  • Action C.7: in each intervention area, a rescue team to respond to sick, injured and deceased dolphins reported along the coast will be set. These teams will involve specially trained personnel (biologists, veterinarians and expert divers). Rescue teams will be properly equipped to work safely respecting animal welfare during each procedure.
  • Action C.8: a citizen science campaign to monitor dolphins and their interaction with fishing gear will be launched. A special App will be designed to record sightings, strandings and interactions of dolphins with fishing gears.
  • Action C. 9: Advocacy actions to foster the introduction of compensation measures will be addressed to the regional authorities, also to promote the institution of new marine N2K sites for the protection of Tursiops truncates.
  • Action D.1: the efficacy of BRDs and potential damages of fishing gears will be monitored by: on board observers, logbooks, passive acoustics, observations by drones to evaluate from a different point of view the interaction with fisheries.
  • Action D.2: monitoring of intentionally injured dolphins through a preliminary survey to assess the populations living in order to evaluate the impact of fishing activities, through standardized photo-identification assessment by using capture and recapture approach. Description of the interaction will be assessed during postmortem examinations and the data will be compared with the fishing boat present in the area in order to identify potential responsible for intentional killing and/or bycatch.
  • Action D.3: Ex ante and ex post surveys will be done to evaluate the impacts of awareness campaign on the main target groups. The socio-economic impact generated by project’s actions on local communities will be also measured.
  • Action E.1, E.2, E.3: Communication, dissemination, networking and replicability. A Dolphin as a Friend campaign addressed to general public will be launched, with meeting with fishermen, events, exhibit, photo contest etc. An educational initiative will be launched for students. Dissemination will include a Guideline for the transferability of actions. Networking with LIFE and non Life projects will be set.