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Field programme ·

Marine Ranger System

The Marine Ranger System places local shore fishers at the forefront of marine protection.

Photo: Akdeniz Koruma Vakfı Arşivi

Start
2013
Where
No Fishing Zones in Gökova Bay
Reports to
Local departments of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning
Application used
SMART (Smart Monitoring and Reporting Tool)

At a glance

  1. The Marine Ranger System places local shore fishers at the forefront of marine protection.

  2. This system was developed for the first time in Türkiye by the Mediterranean Conservation Society, and implemented in 2013 to more effectively protect No Fishing Zones (NFZs) in Gökova Bay.

  3. Marine rangers are not law enforcement officers.

  4. The Mediterranean Conservation Foundation conducts simultaneous monitoring inside and outside the No Fishing Zones to measure the effectiveness of the Marine Ranger System.

How does the Marine Ranger System work?

This system was developed for the first time in Türkiye by the Mediterranean Conservation Society, and implemented in 2013 to more effectively protect No Fishing Zones (NFZs) in Gökova Bay. The Marine Ranger System places local shore fishers at the forefront of marine protection. It places small-scale shore fishers as the key stakeholders in the conservation of marine biodiversity and No Fishing Zones, and in sustainable fishing activities. This allows fishers to protect their source of living and to become an active part of the management process.

  1. Recording and reporting

    Marine rangers, who are selected from among fishers and become employees of the Mediterranean Conservation Foundation, record illegal activities (fishing, incorrect boat mooring, dumping waste into the sea, etc.) encountered in the No Fishing Zones and submit these reports, together with their records, to the relevant local departments of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning through a communication network created for this purpose.

  2. SMART mobile application

    A mobile app called SMART (Smart Monitoring and Reporting Tool), which is a GPS-enabled app on the smartphones used by marine rangers, is used to record infractions and monitor daily patrol routes.

  3. Monthly data

    This allows each NFZ to have its own monthly monitoring record, tracking the incidents observed and reported to the competent public institutions as well as encounters with marine species.

Marine Ranger System

What we do

Simultaneous monitoring

The Mediterranean Conservation Foundation conducts simultaneous monitoring inside and outside the No Fishing Zones to measure the effectiveness of the Marine Ranger System. The monitoring of monk seals, sandbar sharks, seagrass, macroalgae and coral species, fish biomass and daily fishing data contributes to the planning of future conservation efforts, as well as to measuring the effects of the Marine Ranger System on marine biodiversity and the socio-economic makeup of the area.

01Simultaneous monitoring

The Mediterranean Conservation Foundation conducts simultaneous monitoring inside and outside the No Fishing Zones to measure the effectiveness of the Marine Ranger System. The monitoring of monk seals, sandbar sharks, seagrass, macroalgae and coral species, fish biomass and daily fishing data contributes to the planning of future conservation efforts, as well as to measuring the effects of the Marine Ranger System on marine biodiversity and the socio-economic makeup of the area.

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