In Aula Magna of our Congress Center “Don Orione Artigianelli”, we hosted the final conference of project LIFE-GHOST, to present the results obtained during the three years of operation (2013-2016). The project LIFE-GHOST co-funded by the European Commission under the LIFE + Biodiversity program, carried out with the partnership of the ‘Institute of Marine Sciences of the CNR-ISMAR National Research Council (project leader), IUAV and Laguna Project, helped to assess, through innovative approaches, the presence and impacts of networks and fishing gear lost or abandoned on the seabed along the Venetian coast, particularly the rocky areas corresponding to the so-called “tegnùe” (the Venetian word meaning “withheld”) , particularly rich in biodiversity. Field activities, carried out on an area of 2,125 hectares of seabed circumscribed to 15 areas with natural rock formations and one with artificial reefs (soffolta Lido), led to the identification, mapping and subsequent removal of at least 350 objects related to fishing (nets and other gear), for a total weight of over 500 kg, providing the first scientific evidence for this marine coastal environment. http://www.life-ghost.eu
