FishFish – Fish and Fishers in Alonissos

The scientific project FishFish takes place in the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades (NMPANS), the first of its kind in Greece, established for the protection and conservation of the local biodiversity (main protected species the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus) and ecosystem.

Project objectives:

1) record the fishing fleet operating in Alonissos and its catches,
2) assess the status of the main exploited stocks in the area,
3) study the local marine mammals in conjunction with fisheries,
4) record the marine ichthyofauna and benthic habitats using underwater video surveys,
5) train fishers and port police staff on fisheries science

Research team

Coordinator

Athanassios Tsikliras

Research Associates

Androniki Pardalou
Donna Dimarchopoulou
Ioannis Keramidas

Research Staff

Paraskevi Papadopoulou (MSc, Ecology)
Konstantinos Michailidis (BSc Biology)
Vasileia Aletra (BSc, Biology)
Eleftherios Tektonidis (BSc, Biology)
Alexandra Isari (BSc, Ichthyology)
Maria Makri (BSc, Biology)
Melina Nalmpanti (BSc, Biology)
Eleni-Ioanna Yperifanou (BSc, Biology)

Work Packages and Deliverables

FishFish1 (2017-2018)

Fishing fleet and gears

– Number of vessels
– Gears and target species
– Catch composition
– Official landings

Assessments

– CPUE and comparison with past data
– Population structure based on fish size
– Estimation of stock status (catch based method)
– Estimation of fisheries reference points (CMSY method)

Marine mammals

– Interactions with fisheries
– Depredation
– Distribution

Fish species composition

– Qualitative fish abundance estimation
– Comparing areas of varying fishing pressure

FishFish2 (2019-2020)

Fisheries catch

– Catch composition
– Official landings
– Comparison with baseline study
(Report of 2017-2018)

Assessments

– CPUE and comparison with baseline study (Report of 2017-2018)
– Estimation of stock status (catch based method)
– Estimation of fisheries reference points based on abundance (AMSY method)

Habitat mapping and marine fauna

– Sonar
– Underwater drone
– Satellite

Education and training

– Series of seminars to the fishers and Port Police staff
– Leaflet on main species and sizes

Communication and Dissemination

Summer School “Oceanography and Fisheries” (2-6 Sep 2019) in cooperation with
ODYSSEA H2020 Project and Democritus University of Thrace (Prof. G. Sylaios)

Production of a short documentary film on MPAs and their role in fisheries management
in cooperation with PROTOMEDEA European Project and HCMR (Dr. P. Karachle)

Information flyers (english and greek) on the benefits of marine
protected areas and the existing regulations in the National Marine Park
of Alonissos Northern Sporades (NMPANS).

Funded and supported by: