The main objective of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is to achieve good conservation status in European waters. In this sense, the European project CetAMBICion “Coordinated strategy for the assessment, monitoring and management of cetaceans in the sub-region of the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian coast” pursues among its objectives the evaluation of... Read more »

The main objective of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is to achieve good conservation status in European waters. In this sense, the European project CetAMBICion “Coordinated strategy for the assessment, monitoring and management of cetaceans in the sub-region of the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian coast” pursues among its objectives the evaluation of the efforts made by three member states, Spain, France and Portugal in achieving the good environmental status of marine waters and more specifically with regard to the conservation status of marine mammals.

To this end, various studies have been carried out to model the distribution, abundance and habitat use of the different species of marine mammals found in the waters of the Bay of Biscay sub-region and the Iberian coast, as well as to establish a sub-regional list of species, indicators and an evaluation scale to define a coordinated monitoring strategy and programme in the three countries.

DEVELOPMENT OF A REGIONAL SPECIES LIST

Firstly, the information reported by each Member State at the national level during the implementation of the MSFD has been compiled and analysed in order to develop a future regional list of cetacean species. This work has identified aspects of cetacean assessment and conservation, the integration of different policies and the need for sub-regional coordination in establishing standardised criteria, methodologies and threshold values.

During this assessment, reported data have been examined for different aspects, such as bycatch mortality criteria, population size of each of the species, their demographic characteristics, distribution and range pattern and habitat types of cetaceans. This analysis and its results are intended to help strengthen coordination between Member States to improve the consistency and coherence of the implementation of the MSFD and to understand each country’s approach to the development of a coordinated strategy to estimate and reduce cetacean bycatch and assist in the conservation of cetaceans.

Among the key criteria for assessing the conservation status of species, abundance and population distribution have been considered. However, different approaches have been used to estimate these parameters, resulting in differences in the conservation status reported for the different species under the guidelines of the Habitats Directive. Even so, it can be affirmed that several species are in an unfavorable conservation status, such as the common dolphin or the harbour porpoise, for which the available data show their limited populations and the pressures they suffer.

On bycatch assessment, species at risk of being caught as bycatch were reported and, in this regard, all three countries reported on common dolphin, harbour porpoise and bottlenose dolphin. Portugal also reported on minke whales and Spain on short-finned pilot whales.

Future bycatch mitigation measures will be based on the results of the studies carried out in the framework of the project, and could address more selective fishing gear and/or recreational fishing.

ABUNDANCE, DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

On the other hand, different scientific and technical work has been developed to determine the abundance of marine mammals in the waters of the Bay of Biscay sub-region and the Iberian coast. However, a common methodology with an approach agreed by the three countries is not yet available, so, in compliance with the requirements of the MSFD, a first approach of the project has been based on the joint compilation and analysis of all the existing information on the monitoring of marine cetaceans in the territory of action, with the aim of providing data on the abundance, distribution and habitat use of these species.

This analysis, which has analysed data from 2005 to 2020, has covered a total of 242,646 km, of which information was collected from 145,929 km monitored from ships and 96,717 km from aircraft. These surveys have counted 55,000 common dolphins; 7,000 bottlenose dolphins; 6,000 striped dolphins; 3,500 long-finned pilot whales; 1,400 fin whales; 500 harbour porpoises; 350 Risso’s dolphins; 100 Cuvier’s beaked whales; 100 sperm whales and 100 minke whales.

In addition, a gap analysis in space and time has been carried out in order to highlight missing data for a complete assessment, which has served to highlight the differences in both methodologies and information available for each species.

THE MARINE STRATEGY FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive, in force since 2008, introduced a demanding legal framework that requires Member States to establish marine strategies to manage human activities in order to achieve a good environmental status of the marine environment and protect it more effectively.

The Directive enshrines the ecosystem approach to managing human activities impacting the marine environment, integrating the concepts of environmental protection and sustainable use.

THE PROJECT

The CetAMBICion project, coordinated by the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) and involving 15 partners from Spain, France and Portugal, aims to strengthen collaboration and scientific work between the three countries to estimate and reduce cetacean bycatch in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast sub-region, in close collaboration with the fishing sector.

The initiative is part of the European Commission’s DG ENV/MSFD 2020 (Marine Strategy Framework Directive) call and the objectives are also aligned with the Habitats Directive and the Common Fisheries Policy.