Sustainable fishing and other June news

June has been a busy and productive month for the Nature Park as we have been gearing up for  incoming tourists visiting the island. 

Eco Tour

We started the month off with an Eco tour package designed in partnership with project DestiMed, WWF Adria and Mezzomondo local travel agency. A group of specialists from both environmental and tourism backgrounds were brought together to give feedback on a package designed to be a socially and environmentally responsible travel experience with a focus on community inclusion. For more details on this project, please read our previous blog: Eco Tour, island style

One of our eco tour participants enjoying the view of Lučica Bay

Sustainable fishing 

85% of Mediterranean fish stocks are overfished, partly due to decades of a top-down approaches in fisheries management that has failed to consider marine ecosystem and create a sense of ownership and self-investment amongst local Mediterranean fishers.  WWF Adria is currently putting a number of Small Scale Fisheries projects in place through creating an inclusive framework for fishers to be involved in decision-making processes and providing them the opportunity to participate in solution making to work towards sustainable fishing practices and alternative forms of income. 

A local fisherman at work

The WWF Adria Marine team visited the Nature Park to join a meeting with local fisherman and  Nature Park Lastovo Islands. There is currently a plan to set up an island fisherman committee to develop and encourage sustainable fishing practices and encourage eco tourism. This ensures there is a bottom up approach to give local fishermen access to be included and involved in the challenges that face them.

Bird monitoring

We also had our regular ornithologist, Robert Crnković, visit to check on our bird species on the island and surrounding islets. It is important to maintain consistent monitoring of our bird species every six months. Good news, the seagulls on surrounding islets are doing well!

A Seagull chick and unhatched egg on one the islets surrounding Lastovo Island

Robert monitoring the birds of Sušac Island

Islet clean ups

This month the Nature park rangers  got their hands dirty cleaning up islets and islands around Lastovo. Nature Park Lastovo Islands is still looking at ways to reduce plastic pollution through various recycling initiatives. 

Nature Park rangers doing an islet clean up

Festival 

The Island got festive with the ‘Lastovo in the stars’ festival that took place over 22 June – 25 June. This event welcomed all people to camp out in the islands tranquility and enjoy the sights. There were a number of DJs playing throughout the three days, as well as workshops. Workshops included a talk by Greenpeace Hrvatska on the problems of single use plastics and a beach clean up on Mrčara island with Greenpeace Hrvatska and Lastovo Islands Nature Park. Yoga, slacklining, juggling, an educational tour were also on the list of activities.  Kids also got involved with the “little explorers” and “the island told me” workshops, learning the ways of the island. 

Upcoming July events

Coming up in July we have our second community meeting for an Island committee aiming to create a sustainable environment with a focus on community participation. Date to be confirmed, keep an eye on our social media if you would like to be involved. 

The Dalmatian Trail League running trail is ready and set to take place in Lastovo on  the 14 July. The run will take participants on a journey through Lastovo villages cobbled streets, past old churches and olive trees, through the vineyards and finally ending with a well deserved swim in one of our beautiful bays. This will be the second running trail in the Nature Park, and is a great way to encourage eco tourism on the island. 

 To find out what we got up to last month, please follow this link: Island celebration week