CABALGA II: Innovative and Inclusive Measures for the Recovery and Conservation of Benthic Communities in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Cantabrian Seas

The CABALGA II project aims primarily to accelerate the recovery and improve the conservation of key benthic communities affected by human-induced impacts, particularly those associated with fishing activities, through an approach based on active restoration, scientific-technological monitoring, and inclusive social participation.

To achieve this goal, the project is structured around three specific objectives:

• Restore and strengthen vulnerable benthic communities (gorgonians, Posidonia oceanica, and kelp forests), reducing impacts on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs).

• Enhance restoration monitoring and assessment through field campaigns, data analysis, and the use of technological tools (e.g., ROV-based monitoring and advanced/AI-driven analysis).

• Promote awareness and inclusion, integrating the fishing sector, volunteers, and people with disabilities into maintenance, restoration, outreach, and environmental education activities.

Structural benthic ecosystems (such as gorgonians, seagrass meadows, and kelp forests) are essential for marine biodiversity: they create habitat, increase seabed complexity, and support key ecosystem services. However, they are particularly sensitive to physical disturbances (such as gear entanglement, accidental trawling, or lost fishing gear), as well as pressures linked to global change.

In this context, CABALGA II builds upon and strengthens the previous CABALGA initiative with a collaborative, replicable, and inclusive approach. The project combines active restoration, best-practice protocols, participation of the small-scale fishing sector, and scientific, educational, and outreach activities, transforming conservation into a shared action with both environmental and social impact.

Project Timeline

• Start year: 2025

• End year: 2027

Geographic Scope

• Balearic Islands

• Catalonia

• Valencian Community

• Galicia

• Principality of Asturias

Beneficiary

• Institut de Ciències del Mar – CSIC (ICM-CSIC)

Co-funded by

• FEMPA (Pleamar Programme – Biodiversity Foundation)

Partners

• Fundación Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir (UCV)

• National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (FNCP)

• AMICOS Association

Collaborating Entities

• Small-scale fishing sector (guilds and federations)

• Environmental volunteers

• Educational and outreach organizations

• Active participation of people with intellectual disabilities (in support and awareness-raising activities)