Thanks to the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme for all the information in this case study

Context

Where the Central Aegean and the Northeast Levantine Seas meet, Mediterranean waters provide critical habitat for some of its most charismatic species, including sandbar sharks, loggerhead turtles and Mediterranean monk seals.

These waters have long provided local people with sustainable livelihoods through fishing. But this traditional way of life is being threatened by illegal and unregulated fishing activity, damage from tourism, and invasive species from the Red Sea.

In the Gökova Bay to Cape Gelidonya seascape, along the Turkish Mediterranean coast, over 70,000 people still depend on the sea – particularly fishing. Local communities here have been seriously affected by declining fish populations. Over the last 15 years there has been a sharp decrease in catch size causing thousands of people to lose their income.

The local NGO Mediterranean Conservation Society (AKD), supported by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme and Fauna & Flora International, is working to help nature return to the Mediterranean, enhance resilience to the invasive alien species that are entering from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal and revitalise local livelihoods.

One approach is to generate market demand for invasive species, particularly lionfish, so they become an economic asset. This encourages fishers to preferentially harvest these fish, which in turn gives space for other species to bounce back.

Taking action

Read this article, A festival of invasive food, to learn how a restoration effort worked with fishers, chefs and a TV celebrity to reduce pressure on the marine environment and allow it to naturally recover.

Now read how the same creative group found a way to add even more value to the local economy by using the spines of lionfish as a resource for making jewellery in this article Turning venomous spines into jewellery (Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, 2024).

Click here to read more.