After the success of our previous campaign, Archipelagos are now launching a follow up crowdfunding campaign to support the protection of marine mammals and fish stocks in the Aegean Sea. We will do this by providing the local artisan fishermen with new, more sustainable nets! http://igg.me/p/781451/x/4811424
With this 2nd campaign we we wish to raise even more money so that we can reach out to a greater number of fishermen from Lipsi, Patmos and Arki islands, and especially those fishing within the Permanent Wildlife Refuge of Arki Island Complex (Patmos region).
We wish to succeed in supporting in supporting fishermen’s coexistence with marine mammals.
Archipelagos’ Fisheries Research team, which for over a year are working permanently in the Northern Dodecanese, based in Lipsi Island, record significant populations of marine mammals: monk seals and two dolphin species – the bottlenose dolphin and the very rare common dolphin. Unfortunately, we are also recording increasing cases of damaged fishing gear by these species. We should all contribute to solving this inevitable competition.
Our previous campaign helped out many of the small-scale fishermen of Lipsi, and they were all thoroughly touched by everyone’s generosity. They were especially amazed at how even people with very little spare money still made a contribution. This made them feel like they hadn’t been forgotten and that people care. This is definitely rewarding for a community where despite the frequent damage to fishing nets by dolphins and seals, there has been no deliberate killing or injury of protected species in the region these past decades.
In both crowdfunding campaigns, all fishing associations signed a Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Protection of Marine Life.
The new nets that we are going to offer to fishermen will have a larger mesh size than those currently used, and will therefore trap only the larger adult fish. As a more sustainable fishing gear, this will allow the recovery of fish stocks, benefiting both marine mammals and fishermen.
Please donate as little or as much as you can, as all help and support is extremely important to us, not only in monetary value but also as moral support.
Archipelagos’ Transparency Policy
In Archipelagos, we maintain a strict transparency policy for all the donations we receive. 100% of donations gathered from this crowdfunding campaign will be used to purchase selective fishing gear. We strive to ensure that all of those who financially support our actions for the protection of the Greek seas, receive detailed information on how their donation is spent.
