Good News from Tunisia

30.04.2023

About a year ago, we conducted an awareness campaign for the creation of natural sponge cultures in the country with the largest 'sponge production' in the world to date. Aquacultures are expected to generate jobs and protect natural sponge populations and promote their recovery.

Diver from INSTM photographs the first sponge line.

Our partners of the national marine research institute INSTM have now established two test rearing farms each in Djerba and in Kerkennah. As planned, this involved diving for sponges and attaching them to ropes with the fishing communities visited together in May 2022 as well as a local NGO. Where possible, the ropes were installed along the local fish traps as these offer some protection from high waves and boat traffic.

Fish traps made from date palm leaves provide good protection.

In Djerba it was difficult to find sponges at all. That's how badly the stocks are overexploited. Only in the northeast of Kerkennah the yield was good. But still, a good start. According to the specifications, no more than one third of the ‘mother sponge’ was used for the 'seedlings' in each case.

The local partners (in Jerba: AJEM Jlij, TIPAZA and the GDA AJIM; in Kerkennah GDA EL BARAKA Ouled Ezzedine and AKDDL in El Kraten) are now well instructed. We hope that within this year they will be able to establish a small broodstock in each test farm and INSTM's researchers will be able to develop the needed findings there. In particular, the growth rate of local sponge species, their survival in the farms, financial viability, benefits to the marine environment, and recovery and conservation of natural populations.

The little ones also have great interest in the sponges.

The second campaign and the establishment of a maximum of 4 more test farms will be continued in collaboration at a later stage. With the local actors The Association le Pécheur in Zarzis, GDA des femmes Rurales de Jdeiria. Both organizations from the regions of Zarzis and El Bibanes/Jdeiria.

For further cooperation we have signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding with the INSTM.

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