Thousands of years of fishing traditions could be wiped away by less than a century's unsustainable lifestyle. Communities that depend on fishing to make a living are the most affected, as the increasingly impoverished and depleted marine resources are their only source of income.

Around 63% of fishing resources in the Mediterranean and Black Sea is overfished. A once rich sea is turning into an empty body of water. Conventional approaches to management have excluded local fishers from decision-making processes, and this is part of the problem.

Experience shows that when fishers are part of the decision-making process there are benefits for both biodiversity and for livelihoods. Setting up co-management schemes is a long process involving a range of stakeholders. Our biggest challenge is time.
 

We are part of the largest ever initiative to strengthen small-scale fisheries management in the Mediterranean, including more than 20 sites in 6 Mediterranean countries. In Adria we are working to improve management in four pilot sites: Telašćica Nature Park, Lastovo Nature Park and Velebit Channel in Croatia, Strunjan Nature Park in Slovenia.

We are working to empower fisheries and coastal communities to take part in decision-making processes and become drivers of positive change by becoming active guardians of their natural resources.

We are striving to increase the well-being of fishers and their families by finding alternative ways to improve their sources of income. And we are building a co-management platform to share experiences and include all stakeholders in the region to implement and scale-up co-management schemes.