Laboratory Activities

The Bycatch Program for Habitat 1170 consists of recovering coralligenous species accidentally caught during fishing activities and reintroducing them into their natural environments.
Fishing is often carried out in areas rich in coralligenous organisms. The accidental removal of fragments belonging to Habitat 1170 results in the capture of many sessile organisms typical of this habitat and of the associated biocenoses and facies/communities, such as: gorgonians (Eunicella cavolini, Eunicella singularis, Paramuricea clavata, Leptogorgia sarmentosa), Corallium rubrum, stony corals (Cladocora caespitosa), hexacorals (Caryophyllia smithii, Lophelia pertusa), and echinoderms (Astrospartus mediterraneus), along with numerous fragments of live rock, coralline algae, and Cystoseira spp.

Many of these organisms, which have an erect structure, become entangled in fishing nets and, once brought back to port, are discarded and therefore destined to die.
For this reason, holding tanks have been set up to accommodate the recovered organisms during the period preceding their reimplantation.