Thanks to your donations, the PANTHER (Pantelleria Benthic Habitat Recovery) project is making great strides! 🌊

🔬 Project background

PANTHER aims to establish a pilot model of technical and economic transition for the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria, restoring degraded coastal habitats. The island’s fishermen are facing declining fishing yields. The cause? The combined pressures of destructive large-scale industrial fishing and climate change.

Restoring key habitats has become necessary to preserve marine biodiversity and the food security of local populations.

📋 Latest advances

After months of preparation, the PANTHER project has officially begun!

🤝 Local collaboration: Unprecedented collaboration between fishermen, researchers and ecologists has enabled the first restoration actions to be launched. The PANTHER team successfully introduced the first rock gabions for Posidonia oceanica implantations, with the help of YAM SUB and Green Divers Pantelleria.

🌱 First transplants: The first cycle of gorgonian (Eunicella singularis) transplants has been completed. 3D photogrammetry was used for pre-transplant monitoring, enabling progress to be visualized in real time.

🪝 Strengthening partnerships: The project strengthened its collaboration with Capitaneria di Porto, the administrators of Pantelleria municipality and other local institutions. Interviews with team members and local fishermen were conducted to gather local ecological knowledge.

🌏 Awareness-raising: PANTHER project flyers were distributed to fishmongers on the island and in other spaces frequented by citizens to inform residents of the actions underway. An online questionnaire was circulated to gather islanders’ perceptions of the marine environment.

🗣️ Local testimonials: The team also visited Aldo, a former local fisherman, who shared the history of Pantelleria’s sea and the art of braiding traps.

See you soon to follow their next adventures and discover how your support continues to make a difference. 🌟