Monitoring Kicks Off for BIOPRESSADRIA Project in Panzano Bay, Monfalcone

On September 16, the first monitoring campaign for the BIOPRESSADRIA project began in the Natura 2000 site of Panzano Bay, Monfalcone. This INTERREG Italy-Croatia 2021-27 project aims to tackle the degradation of coastal biodiversity in the Adriatic, particularly focusing on seagrass meadows like Posidonia oceanica. These ecosystems are crucial for marine health and provide essential services, including water purification, coastal erosion protection, and carbon storage.

BIOPRESSADRIA is part of a broader effort to protect marine ecosystems within Natura 2000 sites, the European network dedicated to conserving species and habitats of community importance. The project seeks to develop and implement a cross-border strategy to reduce the impacts of coastal tourism and boating on biodiversity, employing practical solutions ranging from rapid monitoring and environmental pressure assessments to active stakeholder engagement and public awareness.

In Panzano Bay, the ecological buoys—installed earlier this summer thanks to the INTERREG IT-HR SASPAS project—are now subject to advanced bioacoustic monitoring. Conducted by GreenSea in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and coordinated by CORILA, this monitoring aims to assess the impact of the buoys and their anchoring systems on the marine ecosystem. The goal is to determine if these structures can serve as aggregation points for fish communities, enhancing spatial heterogeneity, especially vertically, in the study areas. This effect could support biodiversity not just on the seabed but also in the water column, promoting greater ecological complexity in the area.

Monitoring activities in Panzano Bay, supported logistically by the Civil Protection, also include mapping marine seagrass meadows, carried out by project partner SELC, to update species distribution data compared to maps from previous years.

The previous week, similar monitoring was conducted in the Kornati National Park, Croatia, covering both the area where new ecological buoys will be installed next year and the existing buoy field north of Levrnaka Island.

https://www.italy-croatia.eu/en/web/biopressadria