As part of the events planned in Augusta between 17 and 21 September, a series of technical-scientific dives were carried out on the Ischia Porto study site (Action B.2) whit the simultaneous involvement of divers of ISPRA divers, ARPA Toscana (ARPAT), “Tor Vergata” Roma University, University of Palermo (DISTeM), and Authority of Harbor System of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (ASPMTS). The joint monitoring action between the different operators allowed the sharing of methodological and techniques experiences.
During the dives, operators were able to verify the conditions of Posidonia oceanica transplantation, carried out in Ischia Porto in “Punta San Pietro” between 2008 and 2009. The area is designated as Site of Community Importance (SIC) ” Sea depths of Ischia, Procida and Vivara ” and is included in the “Kingdom of Nettuno “. The transplant was carried out as a compensation measure of the impact deriving from the trench excavation carried out for the Bacoli-Ischia gas pipeline.
Furthermore, a survey on the pipeline route was performed to monitor the spontaneous recolonization of P. oceanica, whose monitoring was followed in the post-operam phases by the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, as originally foreseen by the EIA Decree.
From the preliminary observations it emerges that for the 50,000 oceanic Posidonia cuttings transplanted in the seabed of Ischia has been calculated an average growth of new bundles equal to six times the number of transplanted cuttings; sea storms, fishing and anchors have, however, destroyed about 320 square meters of 1600 of new surface. These are some of the most evident successes and criticalities that emerged during the monitoring. The detailed results of these activities will be fundamental to increase the knowledge base that will lead to the develop of good practices to be used in the transplant management platform (PTWP) whose realization is one of the central objectives of the Life SEPOSSO project. In addition to the pre-eminently technical-scientific activities, on September 20th, an immersion opened to stakeholders and public was carried out on the transplantation site.
The team of the scientific divers scientific SEPOSSO during monitoring in Ischia
Photo memory at the end of the monitoring operations