Successful Collaborations Between Fisherfolk, Scientists and Policy Makers in a Mediterranean Fishery
This is the story of how a group of fishermen from a small, politically divided country are finding Another Way. It is a tale of 3 am alarms, bleary-eyed drives, and beautiful sunrises. A story of laughter, tears, and seasickness that plays out over years, across several generations, and in two languages (accompanied by a lot of hand gestures). But most importantly, this is a story of hope.
The tale begins in the Mediterranean Sea, on the northern shores of Cyprus. It’s several hours before dawn, and the fishermen are already out at sea. Leaning over the sides of small wooden boats, they hand-set gill and trammel nets into the water. It’s gruelling work with long, unsociable hours and little financial reward. Yet this humble rhythm of nets plays out in harbours across the Mediterranean where small boats still outnumber the big commercial vessels.
The nets are lifted, and one striking fish stands out. With red and gold stripes, it is unmistakably a lionfish (or ‘Aslan’ to give it its local name). Native to the distant waters of the Indo-Pacific, lionfish are thought to have arrived via the Suez Canal and now thrive in the warming Mediterranean waters1. For fishermen, their appearance is a worrying sign of ecological imbalance, competing with native species for food and space.
However, this is not the only change that is cause for concern in the waters around Cyprus. Once a vibrant hub of marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean Sea has seen many of its species dwindle in the last few decades, with sharks, rays, and skates experiencing the biggest declines. These animals are not typically targeted by fishermen, suggesting that their dwindling numbers are largely a result of bycatch.
Fishing nets, once deployed, often capture more than just the intended species. This accidental catch is known as bycatch, and can include things like turtles, sharks, and rays. In many cases, these species are now kept for sale due to increasing commercial value and the declining availability of traditional target fish. Or, sadly, even they are returned to the sea, mortality rate is high due to injuries, stress, or exhaustion caused by entanglement and handling. To address this problem, accurate, localised data is needed to guide effective management and conservation strategies.
However, unfortunately, in Cyprus, most of the available data comes from the southern part of the island and the state of fisheries along the northern coast remains largely undocumented. With an estimated 300 to 400 small-scale fishermen operating in the north and no dependable bycatch records, policymakers lack the foundation needed to implement targeted conservation measures.
In response, a team of scientists set out in 2018 to find answers! And, of course, the best way to study something is often to immerse yourself in it! So, the team began by asking to join the fishermen on their trips out to sea.
Any worries about how this request would go down were soon forgotten. With classic Cypriot hospitality, the fishermen shared their snacks, brought along extra blankets and pillows for long overnight trips, and began to teach the mainly English-speaking guests local names for the fish. And as the scientists quickly discovered, no Northern Cypriot fishing boat is complete without a small gas stove for making Turkish coffee, served in tiny, intricately patterned cups that look hilariously small and dainty in the calloused hands of a hardened seaman.
Over the next 4 years, the scientists accompanied the fishermen on more than 700 trips, with conditions ranging from intense Mediterranean summer sun to winter lightning storms! To save fuel, boats would often head out to good fishing grounds and stay for multiple cycles of net setting and hauling, with trips lasting for up to 30 hours on the water. This is a long shift by any standards, but add in limited shelter from wind, waves and rain, along with the glamour of peeing over the side of the boat, and you realise this work is not for the faint–hearted!
Every time the lines came up, the team got to work identifying the line-up of marine life in the catch and measuring individuals from nose to tail – a way to estimate age and determine whether the population was reproducing successfully. While many species were expected, there were also some surprises. After taking genetic samples (easier said than done when you are holding a sharp scalpel and facing down a thrashing stingray on a small boat in choppy seas!), it was confirmed that 24 species of sharks and rays had been recorded for the first time in Northern Cypriot waters.
This data was then combined with a further 972 trips that were self-recorded by fishermen who had been trained to report their catch and bycatch in return for money per fishing trip.
The collaboration and data collection were a huge step forward. Not just in terms of knowledge of marine life in the Northern waters of Cyprus, but because the more we know about animals, the better we can protect them. The study found that 61% of the sharks and rays known (so far!) to be in Northern Cyprus are globally threatened, including critically endangered species such as Angel Sharks and the Duckbill Eagle Ray. The scientists were able to share this data with the Northern Cypriot authorities, bringing into place legislation which made it illegal to trade many of the recorded marine species – a huge win for threatened sharks and rays!
Article written my Maddie Kirby with editorial assistance from Nia Clarke and Maya Broadbank
Primary study:
O’Keefe, M. et al. (2023) ‘Diversity and distribution of elasmobranchs in the coastal waters of cyprus: Using bycatch data to inform management and conservation’, Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. doi:10.3389/fmars.2023.1181437.
Other references:
- Mitchell, E. and Almela, V.D. (2024) Modelling the rise of invasive lionfish in the Mediterranean [Preprint]. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4835003/v1.
- Snape, R.T. et al. (2013) ‘Strand Monitoring and anthropological surveys provide insight into marine turtle bycatch in small-scale fisheries of the Eastern Mediterranean’, Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 12(1), pp. 44–55. doi:10.2744/ccb-1008.1.
All photos taken by Maddie Kirby (2023), a scientist who spent time working with the fishermen in North Cyprus as a volunteer observer.
