Thursday, 8 September 2022 UP Famnit Nature Conservation student presented the results of her research on the »Forgotten Catch of Small-Scale Bottom Set Nets in Northern Adriatic« at the European Congress of Conservation Biology

Hana Hanžek-Turnšek, student of the Master’s studies in Nature Conservation, took part in the 6th European Congress of Conservation Biology, which was held between 22 and 26 August 2022 at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.

At the congress, the student presented the preliminary results of the research entitled »Towards Sustainable Fisheries: Forgotten Catch of Small-Scale Bottom Set Nets in Northern Adriatic«, which was carried out under the mentorship of assoc. prof. Bojan Lazar and assist. Matic Jančič, in collaboration with the co-authors.

The results showed, that the fishermen of northern Istria discard large amounts of the entire catch, and benthic invertebrates represent the majority of these discards. A large amount of waste could be problematic for the ecosystem, as organisms are subjected to many stress factors, such as barotrauma, exposure to air, physical injuries, etc. However, based on these results, it cannot yet be assessed, whether this branch of fishing has a significantly negative impact on ecosystems.

The European Congress of Conservation Biology was the student's first scientific event, where she presented the results of her research. »Participating in the congress was a great experience, as I had the opportunity to learn about many new topics and methodological approaches directly from respected European researchers and experts, who developed them,«said Hana Hanžek-Turnšek.

The congress, which aims to bring together practitioners and researchers of nature conservation, exchange knowledge and promote the biodiversity of Europe, is organized every two years by the European section of the Society for Conservation Biology. At the Czech University of Life Sciences, it took place again this year after 13 years.