MBNMS & Genoa Aquarium Collaboration

Overview of Goals for Assignment to Genoa Italy

There are four basic goals of the assignment to Genoa Italy:

1. Study, understand and report on the management and operations of Italy’s marine protected areas (equivalent to sanctuaries)
2. If requested, provide examples to Italian counterparts of successful programs and collaborations employed to manage US National Marine Sanctuaries
3. In overview fashion, understand and report on how marine protected areas within the broader Mediterranean region are organized and managed
4. Refine, and if feasible implement, the “telepresence” model to bring camera signals from MBNMS and other sanctuaries into the Genoa Aquarium

Accomplishing these goals will take a good deal of basic research, meeting with people, and in general, observations.

Italy has designated many marine protected areas and parks in the past 10 years, and how it designates, manages and modifies the management for those areas can be of value to the National Marine Sanctuary Program. For instance, virtually all of the Italian coastline, including its islands, is populated and as been used by humans for thousands of years. Many of the national marine sanctuaries such as Monterey Bay, Stellwagen Bank and Florida Keys are adjacent to large urban centers and how the Italian manage human uses within their protected areas can benefit the National Marine Sanctuary Program.

There are a large number of individuals and organizations involved in Italian protected areas. These include the national government, its scientists, the regional governments in coastal areas, cities and municipalities, and conservation focused non-governmental organizations. In some areas, university scientists are also involved in conducting basic research. In all Italian protected areas, stakeholders such as fishermen, dive tour operators, recreational boat operators, and the Coast Guard are actively involved in day-to-day issues and in overall site management.

Meeting with and discussing opportunities with all of these participants is important to understanding the full picture of how management and operation takes place in Italian marine protected areas.

To accomplish this, the following research plan has been developed to meet Goal #1 above, and to create a dialogue to help meet Goal #2.