Tunisia won 1st prize in the second edition of the “WestMed” initiative for the sustainable development of the blue economy in the western Mediterranean, in the “Biodiversity, conservation of marine habitats and the fight against marine pollution” category, says a press release issued on Tuesday by the Ministry of Agriculture. The prize was awarded at a conference of WestMed stakeholders held in Malta on June 22. Tunisia won the award thanks to a project entitled “Blue Adapt: Marine biological invasion and fisheries: study, damage mitigation and adaptation in the context of climate change”, led by the Directorate-General for Fisheries and Aquaculture and carried out in collaboration with Italian partners. Funded by the European Union, this project aims to combat the blue crab, a maritime invasive species in particular, in Kerkennah and to develop a strategy for adapting to this problem. “Blue Adapt” was selected from 61 proposals from Mediterranean countries such as Libya, Algeria, Morocco, France, Spain and Italy, all focusing on the western Mediterranean. Launched by the Union for the Mediterranean and supported by the European Commission, the WestMed initiative aims to contribute to the realisation of a safer and more secure maritime space, create a smarter and more resilient blue economy and improve maritime governance for the Western Mediterranean. Under the theme “Stimulating the sustainable blue economy”, the WestMed 2023 conference highlighted the initiative’s activities in the fields of sustainable aquaculture, green shipping, ports, maritime clusters, maritime spatial planning, sustainable tourism and ocean education.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse