Life and Freshwater Fish

LIFE NATURE | LIFE AND FRESHWATER FISH

station breeds both species. This has enabled it to within the lagoons, Ullal de Baldovi and Ullal dels establish a ‘reserve’ stock of both fish with suit- Sants. Projecte Ullals (LIFE04 NAT/ES/000048) able genetic variability and quality to regenerate has contributed to the recovery of the Valencian natural populations in case of disaster. toothcarp through actions to improve habitat conditions and a reinforcement release of more than Mrs Risueño explains that it is easier to breed the 2 500 individuals bred at the El Palmar station. Spanish toothcarp than the Valencian, “the sa- The project increased scientific understanding of maruc is much more demanding in terms of repro- the species through a phased release programme duction requirements, and samaruc reproduction is that saw several specimens monitored and kept in 10 times less than the fartet.” conditions of semi-freedom for the best part of a year before their final release. The El Palmar research station continues to op- erate to this day with the support of EU regional Reintroduction and reinforcement in funds and now has nine full time employees. By Catalonia the end of 2012, it had bred some 350 000 Valen- cia toothcarps. Annual production today is approxi- LIFE actions in favour of Catalonia’s toothcarp mately 12 000-15 000 fish. populations began in 1996 when the Especies en Humedales (LIFE96 NAT/E/003118) project took Thanks to LIFE project restoration of wetlands and subsequent reintroduction, the range of the samaruc has increased and is today stable. Nev- Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius ibericus) ertheless, the species is still highly endangered, principally because of the invasive eastern mos- The Spanish toothcarp (fartet in Spanish) is a small fish restricted to 10 sites along the Mediterranean coast of Spain from Catalonia to Almeria. The main quitofish and pumpkinseed sunfish. pressures on the species come from invasive alien species, pollution of sur- face waters and urbanisation. The Spanish toothcarp can be found in various Recreating toothcarp habitat habitat types, including coastal lagoons, salt marshes and freshwater streams with submerged vegetation. It is highly adaptable and tolerates a wide range There have been several LIFE projects in the Valen- of salinities from pure freshwater to hypersaline conditions (it is found in salt cia region that have restored and recreated coast- pans at Mar Menor, Murcia). As a result of their isolation, the populations of this al habitats, mainly dunes and intra-dune lagoons, species exhibit notable differences in genetic structure. and wetlands with springs (ullals). Dunas Albufera • Listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (LIFE00 NAT/E/007339) and a subsequent LIFE • Art. 17 conservation status (2007-2012): ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ Nature project, Valencia Enebro (LIFE04 NAT/ • IUCN Category (2006): ‘Endangered’ ES/000044) added new populations of both the Valencia toothcarp and Spanish toothcarp along the Devesa coastline, south of the city of Valencia. To achieve this, the projects first concentrated on establishing appropriate habitats, namely intra- dune lagoons (known locally as malladas), creating permanently flooded sections by lowering the dune profile to the level of the (fresh)water table. “Using stocks produced at El Palmar, both species have been reintroduced to these newly-created and en- larged malladas. And it was a success: now we have one of the best fartet and samaruc populations in Valencia,” says Antonio Vizcaiño, the coordinator of the two projects. The El Palmar station continues Region (FSCCVR) Species Conservation Centre of the Valencian Photo: Freshwater to regularly monitor fish populations, water levels and water quality, working in partnership with the project beneficiary, the municipal authority.

LIFE co-funding was secured for another project in 2004, which sought to recover the two most important permanently-flooded freshwater pools