Initiatives pour la Conservation pArtagée du ReqUin gris en Italie et en TuniSie

"Eastern Tunisian and Southern Sicily waters host the highest diversity levels of sharks and rays of the Mediterranean Basin and are considered space use hot spots for many Endangered or Critically Endangered elasmobranch species. Most of these species are highly mobile and use Tunisian and Italian waters for different phases of their life cycle. Juvenile and adults of some species, such as the Endangered sandbar shark Carcharinus plumbeus, likely migrate between the Tunisian platform and the Sicily Straits aggregating seasonally in specific spots (e.g. the Gulf of Gabes in Tunisia and the Lampione Island in Italy) to give birth, breed and forage. Such space use hot spots and aggregations represent a vulnerable phase for this species, and are exploited in different ways by Italian and Tunisian local communities.To halt a well-known trend of local extinctions of shark species – already documented in many other parts of the Mediterranean – the project aims at setting up network-based approaches for broader integrated management of highly mobile species, and sandbar sharks in particular.
We will set-up joint actions and strategies to reduce pressures threatening sandbar sharks in Tunisia and in Italy, developing alternative ways, other than fishing, to sustainably ‘exploit’ sharks for touristic purposes, while increasing economic incomes for local communities.
Indeed, Italian and Tunisian researchers, decision-makers, conservation actors and managers do require to network to take advantage of the fact that their shark space use hot spots are of regional significance in the Mediterranean, but at the same time provide unique opportunities to protect endangered species and improve their ability to set up long-term actions. Strategic projects such as the one proposed here relies on the uniqueness of the sites as such aggregations are rare around the Mediterranean."

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