Jean-Michel Culioli - France
Jean-Michel has been working on the environment and the protection of the natural reserve of the Mouths of Bonifacio since 1998. He started out as an ethiologist and a fisheries biologist, but by integrating the Office of Environment Corsica, he opened himself up to seabirds and cetaceans. The proliferation of these observations allowed him to have a global vision as a manager.
The videos of Jean-Michel
Bouches-de-Bonifacio Marine Reserve
- September 13, 2009
Jean-Michel Culioli shows us around the "Bouches de Bonifacio" Marine Reserve, its management and its dry land and underwater ressources.
The 80 000 ha on the Marine reserve are the French part of the soon-to-be Franco-Italian marine reserve. Within the 80 000 ha , 13 000 ha are marked out for more rigorous protection. Management of this reserve is delegated to the Environment Office of the Corsica region, which has a staff of 25 people. We are running 50 distinct programs, linked with the fishing and tourism industries. In 6 years of protection we managed to get the fish biomass to grow to 6 times its size in non protected areas. With the development of tourism and pleasure boating we are looking at the ways to reduce the damage due to anchoring, thanks to better types of anchors or management of the anchoring areas. There are now 23 counting stations, spread out over the Sardinia and Corsica sides. Coordination on both sides of the border is strong, and we are going towards an integrated management. Obviously the million eggs laid by a grouper are dispersed irrespective of the border. The management of the Mediterranean resources must be done on a global basis.
