TUI Sea the Change Balearics

The Balearic Islands boast one of the best-preserved marine environments in the Mediterranean, with over 400 fish species and 650km2 of seagrass meadows, as well as a resident population of sperm whales and dolphins. But over the last ten years, growing pressures such as overpopulation and pollution have started to erode the natural marine environment. 

TUI Sea the Change Balearics aims to improve the state of the marine environment by reducing the impact of fishing practices and restoring shallow water bays. It will also strengthen local organisations to become more effective and impactful at marine conservation and create links to the tourism sector to drive change. 

A healthy marine and coastal environment is essential to the economic prosperity of the Balearic Islands and the wellbeing of its citizens. In addition to global warming and pollution from poorly treated water and plastics, the marine environment is under stress from overpopulation, overfishing and inaddequate mooring practices from boats. This has resulted in the loss of valuable habitats and species and action is needed to restore and preserve this essential ecosystem. 

For the last six years, the Marilles Foundation has been working closely with fishermen, Marine Protected Areas, NGOs, researchers and representatives from key sectors (such as diving centres and in the boating sector) to collectively identify the most effective interventions to turn the Balearic fishing fleet into the most sustainable one in the Mediterranean. TUI Sea the Change Balearics builds on these successes and relationships to focus on three strategic priorities:  

1) Sustainable fisheries: creation of sustainable management plans for Balearic fisheries.  

2) Shallow water bay restoration: working to restore shallow water bays in two locations by planting, restoring and nurturing seagrass meadows. This will be complemented by community engagement activities to build local support alongside policy work to encourage local and regional governments to act.  

3) Training local marine NGOs working on marine issues with the aim of strengthen their organisation and increasing their impact and effectiveness.  

25 square kilometres of coast and seascapes will be protected and 10 square kilometres of this will also be restored. Perfect conditions will be created to increase populations of sharks, rays, groupers and other marine wildlife. 

60 people from three fishing “cofradias” (cooperatives) will be trained in marine conservation, and on how to reduce their impact on vulnerable species and increase catch and revenue per unit of effort through better fishery management plans. 

300 people will participate in sustainable tourism experiences including “pescaturismo” and 30 NGOs will receive training sessions and a 12-month mentoring programme to support their growth in terms of staff, budget, and impact. 

PROJECT PARTNER

Marilles is a foundation dedicated to the conservation of the Balearic Sea and coast and that believes that healthy marine ecosystems can be reconciled with economic prosperity. It was officially founded in 2017, but the research and planning behind the organisation began earlier. It has a robust network of partners in the Mediterranean and beyond and longstanding roots in environmental philanthropy. 

FOLLOW
TRITON!

Turtle1
Cookies on tuicarefoundation.com

We use cookies to provide you with an optimized website experience. They include cookies for the operation and optimization of the website as well as cookies for analyses, retargeting and to provide personalised content on websites by third party providers. By clicking on Accept you are agreeing to the use of non-essential cookies. If you don't want that, you can Decline the use of cookies or change your Settings at any time. For more information, including the processing of data by third party providers, see our Cookie Notice.

Managing your cookie settings

Choose which cookies are permitted by using the “Status”-Switch. Save your settings with the button “I Agree”.

You can find more information under Cookie Notice at any time.

Cookies Description Status
Required cookies These cookies are required to enable you to navigate through the websites and use key functions. These can not be disabled. Cookie Notice
Website analytics cookies These cookies help us to understand how visitors engage with our website. The information is collected anonymously and transfered to our analytics partner. Cookie Notice