OBJECTIFS
In partnership with Crnogorsko Društvo Ekologa/Montenegrin Ecologists Society (MES) and Green Home,
Septentrion Environment carried out an inventory and diagnosis of fish populations and their essential habitats as part of the creation of the Katič Natural Park, the second marine and coastal protected area in Montenegro.
This MPA was officially declared by the Montenegrin government on 16/09/2021 (cf. here). The announcement was celebrated during the 3rd edition of the Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas Forum held in Monaco at the end of November 2021.
DESCRIPTION
More specifically, the first part of the survey made it possible to locate the essential fish nursery habitats of the “Shallow rocky bottoms” type and to characterise its associated juvenile fish assemblages. Secondly, inventories of adult populations were performed within the rocky habitats of the Infralittoral. In the light of the data gathered, recommendations for area zoning and management measures were formulated, in particular to allow the conservation of habitats essential for the life cycle of coastal fish species.
Juvenile fishes visual census campaign : study area exploration, Katic and Sv Nedelja islands (a) and adjacent coastal zones ; study site selection (b) ; equipment preparation (c) for underwater visual census (e, f) using submersible pads (c) in each nursery site studied.
