- The Santo Cristo del Mar Fishermen's Guild of Punta Umbria joins the project ‘S.O.S Caretta: Fishermen for Biodiversity’.
- Hombre y Territorio continues to seek the support of fishing entities in this project developed with the support of Fundación Cepsa.
“Fishermen: we need heroes” is the message that the `S.O.S Caretta’ project sends out to the fishermen of Punta Umbria, one of the 4 towns in which the fishing guilds and associations involved in this initiative operate, together with Isla Cristina, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Tarifa. One of the objectives of this project (www.soscaretta.org) is to give visibility to the work of fishermen in their commitment to sustainability and to promote awareness and training in the sector, the general public and schools regarding the role of the fishing sector in the conservation of sea turtles.
“The fishing sector has been working for years to advance towards sustainability. Our participation in this project demonstrates the commitment of the Punta Umbria fishing fleet and the Andalusian fishing sector to the conservation of biodiversity,” says Manuel Fernandez, Chief Skipper of the ‘Santo Cristo del Mar’ fishermen's guild of Punta Umbria and president of the Andalusian Federation of Fishermen's Guilds, an entity that supports the project on an institutional level.
The ‘Hombre y Territorio’ (HyT) association, together with Fundación Cepsa, continues advancing in the project S.O.S. Caretta: Fishermen for Biodiversity, promoting the rescue and conservation of sea turtles by the fishing sector in Andalusia, with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa.
“Andalusia is an area of exceptional interest with regard to sea turtles, and the involvement of the fishing sector is essential to improving their conservation. The project aims to serve as a link between fishermen, society and the authorities in the management of these species," says Patricio Peñalver, project coordinator at HyT.
The involvement of the various actors involved in the rescue of these species by the fishing sector is key to the development of the project. This has involved, among others, the Public Ports Agency of Andalusia (APPA), which has signed a collaboration agreement with HyT for the development of this activity.
APPA officials at the Port of Punta Umbria participated together with the Fishermen's Guild, HyT and the Fundación Cepsa in delivering project materials. Teresa Millán, head of Fundación Cepsa in Huelva, highlighted "the Foundation's commitment to the protection of biodiversity, particularly along the Andalusian coast, as part of Cepsa's plan to contribute to the achievement of a sustainable future for all and to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda."
The project has scheduled for the coming weeks, in the towns named above, actions aimed at training and awareness of the fishing sector with the support, in the case of Punta Umbria, of Foredunes, an entity specializing in fisheries and environmental education: “In our experience with the sector, we believe it is essential to establish communication based on trust and environmental education," said Manuela Pomares, head of the organization.
The target species are the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Both species are listed as endangered. S.O.S. Caretta has the support of environmental and fishing administrations at the national and regional levels, such as the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD), the Directorate General of Sustainable Fishing at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food, and the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of the Andalusian Government, as well as entities representing the fishing sector, such as the Andalusian Federation of Fishermen's Guilds and the Andalusian Federation of Fishing Associations.