A Natura 2000 site
The Brusc lagoon and the shoals of Embiez Island are included in the Natura 2000 network since 1999, especially for their Posidonia barrier reef. ‘The meadows cover nearly 1,000 acres out of the 1,200-acres marine area! This rare natural heritage along French coasts must imperatively be protected,’ points out Nardo Vicente, the director of the Paul Ricard Institute of Oceanography, who is responsible for the implementation of this protection tool. The Natura 2000 network is based on the EU Habitats and Birds Directives and its objective is to promote the maintenance of biodiversity while meeting economic, social and cultural requirements.
Protecting Posidonia by all means
Protecting Posidonia is not an easy task in an area that is highly frequented by professional and recreational fishermen, windsurfers and pleasure boaters. With more than 280 boats circulating between the islands of Embiez and Rouveau in one single summer day, considerable damage is caused to the meadows by anchors.
Implementing protective measures
After carrying out an environmental analysis of the site, the Institute has established management objectives and the means required in consultation with all users. Following a municipal decree, traffic and navigation both by powered craft or beach equipment except for kayak boats were prohibited through the entire perimeter of Embiez. The commune has allocated a sum of almost € 300,000 to the removal of shipwrecks and the setting up of organised moorings. A resource management plan was also designed in collaboration with some 30 professional fishermen operating in the Brusc and Sanary lagoons in order to allow them to pursue their activity while respecting the marine habitat. Finally, extensive efforts have been undertaken to inform and sensitise holidaymakers and neighbouring communes, especially schools.
The latest reports issued by the Institute show that Posidonia meadows are now in good condition. However, even if human activity has a lesser impact on marine plants, the latter are facing another threat which is of equal concern, the Caulerpa racemosa. This invasive seaweed already covers more than 10 acres of the sea bottom in the region and besides basic weeding, there is currently no solution to stem its spread.
A unique versatile hatchery
The versatile hatchery stems from a partnership between the local fisheries committee of the Var department, the Paul Ricard Institute of Oceanography and the Caisse d’Epargne (savings bank) which financed this unprecedented project to the tune of € 100,000. The ultimate aim is to allow the restocking of species with high market value that are threatened by over-exploitation or pollution while supporting artisanal fishery. An experimental aquaculture activity with a nursery had already been developed there in 1981 in order to revive the development of larvae of commercial fish such as basses and sea bream and supplement fishing.
Taking pressure off captures in the wild
Thirty years later, the research team focuses its work on species that are rare or under threat of extinction or over-exploitation such as seahorses (Hippocampus hippocampus and Hippocampus guttulatus), edible sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and giant mussels (Pinna nobilis). The study of the biology and behaviour of these threatened species makes it possible to master breeding techniques. Such is the case for seahorses, which are under threat of extinction despite international protection. ‘We master the reproduction of seahorses, from the development of juveniles until they are fully grown and we give a number of specimens born at the Institute to aquariums in order to take pressure off captures in the wild,’ points out Vicente Nardo while showing us ponds filled with dozens of these beautiful juvenile creatures. ‘These specimens come from the Thau lagoon; it is to be noted that each brood may consist of between 200 and 600 eggs and that the survival rate in ponds is 50% but only one in four thousands in the wild!’
Supporting artisanal sea urchin fishery
The sea urchin programme was set up after fishermen themselves noted a reduction in the stocks of edible sea urchins in the recent past. ‘The prudhommie (fishermen’s self-regulatory body) of La Ciotat asked us to produce sea urchins,’ says Nardo Vicente. ‘It was very easy but the problem was to feed them!’ This was the challenge that the Institute successfully met through aquaculture research to actually produce the appropriate food and thus grow the larvae to produce sea urchins. Out of 1.5 million births through in-vitro fertilisation, not less than 300,000 sea urchin larvae were produced. The sea urchins are released in the wild when they reach 1 mm. A total of over a million larvae were introduced at five sites in the region of Toulon, including two around Embiez. The effectiveness of the operation is yet to be assessed via genetic paternity testing to determine whether the sea urchins found on location are really from the hatchery. ‘DNA samples are collected from the spines and this sampling method is adapted to the resource as it avoids impacting the wild population,’explains Sylvain Couvray, who works with the University of Toulon on population genetics in order to develop the paternity test. The sea urchins produced by the Institute will be marketable in 4 years time. A new stage is thus reached and will allow moving to the large-scale production stage.
Producing micro-algae to reduce undernutrition
Furthermore, the hatchery produces microscopic algae, especially spirulina and chlorella, which are used to fight undernutrition in developing countries and eventually to produce biofuel. Spirulina develops in brackish water but the Institute of Oceanography has conducted tests to produce this species in sea water. ‘We manage to produce 6 to 7 seeds per square metre daily,’ explains Nardo Vicente with satisfaction. ‘It should be noted that 1,000m² can provide food for 10,000 malnourished children!’ A small production, drying and packaging unit of spirulina is actually being installed in the south of Madagascar. This is a particularly important outcome for Nardo Vicente, who set up this humanistic initiative.
A role in education and raising awareness
Besides conducting research, the Institute stands out for its educational activities targeting the youth from kindergarten to university thesis as well as for its spirit of sharing and openness. An educational programme has, amongst other, been developed by Alain Rivat to raise awareness among local establishments and welcomes some 5,000 schoolchildren who visit the Institute every year. Furthermore, the Destination Planète Mer Association produces textbooks, offers educational workshops at the Tiki centre in Embiez and holds mini-cruises around the islands in the Mediterranean to provide encounters with cetaceans and turtles.
The Institute also works with various scientific organisations including the Villefranche, Endourne, Banyuls, Roscoff and Concarneau biological stations as well as with scientists in England, Spain, Italy and as far as Australia regarding giant mussels.
Prestigious partnerships
Nardo Vicente has developed various partnerships together with Patricia, the granddaughter of Paul Ricard – with the WWF to study cetacean populations in the Mediterranean, with Veolia to assess the impact of the brine generated by sea water desalination plants, with Tara to communicate at the IUCN congress in Barcelona as well as for the setting up of an experimental hatchery in 2009. This pre-eminent professor now has high hopes in the Sea Orbiter programme, launched by his friend, Jacques Rougerie, that he has supported from the start. ‘This ambitious pelagic research programme should be conducted in 2013 with 240 days in the Mediterranean to study the sea in real time from infinitely small organisms to whales!’ says an enthusiastic Nardo Vicente, who is still as passionate as he was when he started his career.
