The Permanent Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS), is committed to implement a regional project on mitigating bycatch and depredation by cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, in coordination with the Secretariat of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), and in collaboration with the UNEP/MAP-RAC/SPA (Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas). This regional project is funded by the MAVA Foundation.

The main objectives of this regional initiative are:
1) to enhance the conservation of cetaceans, sea turtles and seabirds, in particular by mitigating interactions with fisheries, considering both incidental catches and depredation issues;
2) to increase the awareness of national authorities, fishers and civil society and to demonstrate that economic incomes of fishers could be diversified through association of traditional fishing with ecotourism-oriented activities such as observation of wild marine fauna.

National institutions and NGOs implement eight pilot actions in selected fisheries of the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea (i.e. France, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) aiming at identifying the nature of such interactions and at testing mitigations measures:
Purse seine sardine fisheries in the Moroccan Mediterranean, coordinated by INRH
Bluefin tuna artisanal fisheries in the Strait of Gibraltar, coordinated by INRH & IEO
Swordfish and albacore longline fisheries in southern Spain, coordinated by IEO
Bottom and surface longline fisheries in the Gulf of Gabs, coordinated by INSTM
Purse seine small pelagic fisheries in Kelibia, coordinated by INSTM
Longline and gillnet fisheries in southern France and the Balearic Islands, coordinated by CestMed and ALNITAK.
A preliminary study on the occurrence and extent of incidental catches of cetaceans and depredation events in Algerian fisheries is also being developed by CNRDPA.

The project also aims at supporting the development of sustainable ecotourism activities based on the link between traditional fishing and the sustainable observation of marine fauna preventing disruption and harassment of animals. This would place fishers in the role of responsible actors and "ambassadors" of the seas.

The project will also ensure wide dissemination, in the ACCOBAMS area, of results and lessons learnt and knowledge sharing on mitigating bycatch and depredation.