Our goal was to reduce of marine debris resulting from fishery and aquaculture practices on Southern Europe islands while preserving the local marine ecosystem. The project aimed to enhance the knowledge of fishery and aquaculture workers on sustainability and improve their skills in adopting more sustainable practices. Empowering these workers, who share a unique relationship with the sea, raised awareness of their role in preserving the ecosystem, leading to the adoption of sustainable solutions to address marine debris. The project also provided lifelong opportunities to workers in remote areas. It supported municipal employees, enhancing their skills as trainers for local fishery and aquaculture workers, facilitating the implementation of sustainable solutions. This aimed to foster dialogue between parties and encourage behavioral shifts among workers, leveraging trust within their communities. Municipal employees were enabled to retain gained knowledge and continue training others over time. Finally, the project sought to increase awareness among European citizens, local communities, and stakeholders regarding the role of fishery and aquaculture activities in polluting the Mediterranean Sea and the Macaronesia region.
The world's oceans and seas form an intricate natural system reliant on delicate balance. Today, this equilibrium faces threats—overfishing, trawling, ocean acidification, rising sea levels, and the dumping of chemicals into seas. Plastic waste, especially, poses a challenge due to its long lifespan and harm to flora, fauna, and humans. The fishery and aquaculture sectors significantly contribute to marine pollution, leaving nets, traps, and longlines abandoned, harming ecosystems. Southern European islands rely on a good relationship with the sea, integral to their sustenance and the blue economy sustaining communities. Given the necessity to preserve the marine ecosystems and not spoil the fragile economy of these communities, the project planned to address several needs: contrasting the abandonment of fishing gear, empowering local fishery and aquaculture workers in defending their own local marine ecosystem, providing lifelong learning opportunities to islander communities, supporting municipal employees in charge of environmental protection in overcoming barriers and helping fishery and aquaculture workers in adopting sustainable solutions, increasing the awareness of the public and of relevant stakeholders.