Sponsors - Overall campaign

Planète Mer is an association operating in the public interest.

Its mission is " the preservation of marine life and of the human activities which rely on it ". Planète Mer focuses its work on the need to protect marine ecosystems, maintain their proper functioning, and, at the same time, allow human activities exploiting these ecosystems to develop.

Planète Mer's action involves a double focus on grassroots support along with representation in Brussels. This means, for example, finding practical, useful and workable solutions for fishermen that are consistent with the Common Fisheries Policy, which is decided in Brussels. We firmly believe that the fishing industry of tomorrow will be determined in the field, so our action is based on pilot projects that can be replicated when needed.

Fishing is therefore a priority area in our work :

• With the French Norway Lobster Fishery in the Gulf of Gascogne (approx. 250 vessels). Planète Mer has formally entered into agreement on an improvement action programme with AGLIA (Association du Grand Littoral Atlantique, or Atlantic Coast Association, which includes the 4 French regions with Atlantic coastlines). The aim of this programme is to build on the work already undertaken by fishermen, and specifically to :
  (1) improve the selectivity of fishing gear,
  (2) reduce the mortality rate of jettisoned by-catch and,
  (3) test new gear, such as pot fishing, in order to lay better foundations for fishing in the future.
  This improvement programme began in 2009 and will run until 2011. Planète Mer provides financial support, participates in technical committees and prepares communication documents to publicize this improvement process.
• In the context of the French National Stakeholder Conference for the Sea (Grenelle de la Mer) and its implementation, a new "Fisheries-based" management approach called UEGC (Concerted Exploitation and Management Unit) is to be tested in 6 pilot fisheries. Planète Mer supports this approach and intends to make a significant contribution to the implementation of this strategy.
• In support of the Mr Goodfish project, which was initiated by Nausicaa, and is being implemented by 3 major European Aquariums. Planète Mer is providing its expertise and commited partnership to this useful and constructive initiative.

We also support small-scale coastal fishing in tropical zones through the restoration of natural sites. At the end of March, we will, for example, begin restoring 600 hectares of mangrove forests in the north-east of Thailand’s Phuket Island. Mangrove forests are important centres of biodiversity, they provide a barrier to tropical storms and also act as mechanical and biological filters. Mangroves are also an important food-production resource for local communities.

Restoring them is therefore Planete Mer’s core mission. In addition, it has been recognised that mangroves constitute a carbon sink, making their restoration even more important. It is possible, moreover, to quantify their sink effect. The replantation of 450 ha out of 600 ha that will be restored, absorbs the equivalent of a year’s carbon emissions by 1000 europeans.

Awareness raising actions are currently under examination.
Planete Mer is also a partner in the film Océans produced by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud.

IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world.

The IUCN Global Marine Programme (GMP) is a thematic programme based at Headquarters in
Switzerland, but with staff posted at numerous IUCN offices around the world (see
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/marine/marine_contacts/)
It works closely with both the SSC and the World Commission on Protected Areas to help deliver IUCN’s mandate on marine conservation and sustainable use.

GMP’s work falls under eight broad themes: Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation; Conserving
Threatened Marine Species; Energy & Industry; Fisheries & Aquaculture; Managing Marine Invasive
Species; Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Ocean Governance; and Securing Coastal Livelihoods.
GMP works closely with the private sector, most notably with Sakhalin Energy on mitigating impacts from the oil and gas operations off Sakhalin Island; with Yemen LNG to give expert advice on the Company’s biodiversity plan and monitoring efforts; and with E.ON to develop a guidance document on managing the risks and opportunities of offshore renewable energy.

GMP also recognizes the importance of furthering knowledge of marine ecosystems as a way of
promoting their protection. To this effect, GMP has started implementing a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) project to better understand the ecology of seamounts in the Southern Indian Ocean and to use the findings to improve fisheries management in the region. With German funding, GMP has also set up a Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative to use scientific criteria to identify high seas areas in urgent need of protection. Learn more about the Global Marine Programme:
http://www.iucn.org/marine