As we had announced some months ago, we´re finally leaving X. So long 👋,X. From now on, you can find us over on BlueSky (@reduce-project.bsky.social) and INSTAGRAM (reduce__project) where the conversation continues on REDUCE work & the latest developments in #bycatchmitigation

After 3 days of intensive work, REDUCE II Annual Meeting has finally ended, with good progress of WPs and promising tasks ahead. Thanks to all partners, Advisory board and Ethics Board for your participation, as well the Coordination team for the great job. We see!

We are just starting the third and last day of our Second Annual Meeting. REDUCE Coordinator has recapped the main points discussed yesterday and now the general assembly is taking place to deal with internal items, future plans and open discussions. #ReductionETPBycatch

After finishing internal discussions on financial, administrative and technical reporting update, the second day of this Annual Meeting comes to an end. We have enjoyed exciting interventions that pointed promising networking with Africa and EU key players. We see you tomorrow!

And, of course, we also thank the Advisory Board for having joined us in this II annual meeting. We much appreciate the evaluation of the effectiveness of the tasks developed so far and for the valuable and constructive advice to consider for the ongoing execution of the project.

We thank the contributions from the Ethics Board Coordinator, Michèle Barbier, who has delivered the adequate assessment on how we have dealt with relevant ethical considerations and more advice to implement in the next phase of the project.

Vasilis Minasidis​asilis (UC) presented his PhD project​ in progress focused on "​Bycatch & EMS" as this is a tool-measure for getting better data for better fisheries management, but it is sillt not broadly in place.

Esther MOLLIER (IRD) went on with her research on FAD environmental impacts for tropical tuna purse seine fishery in the Atlantic Ocean to better understand the effects of drifting Fish Aggregating Device on habitats and coastal communities in the Central East Atlantic.

Diego J. Arévalo-Ayal (UB) presented his study on assessing the impact of bycatch on the key vital rates and consequently the population dynamics and viability of several shearwater species.

Clara Lerebourg (IRD) continued explaining his study on ETPs bycatch hotspots in the Atlantic and relation with tune fisheries. She works on contributing to reduce the impact by assessing the mpact of dfirerent technical and operational measures.

Then Sofía Ten (UV), REDUCE Junior Postdoctoral Fellow went on with her research on health assessment of bycaught sea turtles and the development of a field-ready methodology to measure most informative health indicators to estimate post Post-release mortality probabilities.

Dr. Alessandra Cani (UB) showed her research on Sea Turtle Bycatch focused on post-release mortality and sublethal recovery periods of ETP species caught by EU fleet of longliners in ECAO, being loggerhead turtle the species most often bycaught.

It was time then for “PechaKucha session” where research fellows presented their work in fast-paced and engaging talks. They showed the results of their research on different taxa performed in the framework of REDUCE.👇

We would like to thank all of them for being with us today and the relevant information provided from their respective organizations and for being keen for potential collaborations in the framework of REDUCE.

Naji Laamrich introduced the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the active cooperation they carry on for the conservation and management of fisheries and capacity building, both fields open for collaboration.

Elisa Carbajo gave some guidelines for feasible collaboration between SGP and REDUCE. For instance, the potential performance of training activities onboard the vessel INTERMARES in West Africa, which it is a wonderful opportunity for the workshops we´ll organize in the region.

Key messages were that the EU fleet is a unique player providing data on the marine environment which is key for scientific research. She highlighted the Spanish fleet has the highest standards of sustainable fisheries.

Teresa Molina and Elisa Carbajo from the Secretary General for Fisheries (Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) gave a practical overview of fisheries governance in the region, the regulatory framework for the UE fleets under the SFAP and collaboration opportunies

Following, Patrice Brehmer explained the role of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission where he is scientific adviser and the actions taken addressing various aspects of fisheries management and the Protocol 2025 for bycatch reduction delivered for members states to implement.

First, Alexandre Rodríguez (Executive Secretary of the Long-Distance Fleet Advisory Council has provided an insightful explanation on its advisory role in shaping EU fisheries policy and the stakeholders’ views on the measure to reduce bycatch the fleets implement in the area.