Small fish, small streams, big challenges: conservation of endangered species in tributaries of the upper Po river

Project Objective

The project objective is to prevent the decline of six freshwater fishes of Annex II of the Habitat Directive:

• Po brook lamprey (Lethenteron zanandreai)
• Southeuropean Nose (Protochondrostoma genei)
• Italian Nose (Chondrostoma soetta)
• Italian Loach (Sabanejewia larvata)
• (Telestes muticellus)
• Sculpin (Cottus gobio)

T. muticellus is evaluated in conservation status U1 Unfavourable-Inadequate and the other five as U2 Unfavourable-Bad.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are as follows:

1. Restoration of longitudinal connectivity for 122 km, currently fragmented by 16 barriers.
2. Habitat improvement in 13 strategic points.
3. Restocking of the population of five species thanks to a fish farm.
4. Alien species control and reduction in 440 km in the 20 Natura 2000 targeted sites in the Piedmont Region in the northern part of the Po river basin.
5. Construction of an allochthonous biomass reuse through an agreement with a pet food company.

Stakeholder Engagement

A wide approach to stakeholder engagement is foreseen, which includes:

• Active participation in the conservation actions (fishermen, volunteers, students, citizens).
• Involvement of the local community to increase the value of natural resources through a Citizen Science approach.

Long-term Conservation Measures

For the long-term conservation of the species, the project will:

• Draft and approve specific conservation measures.
• Develop guidelines for river continuity.
• Provide updated data to revise the measures of the Po River Basin Management Plan of the Water Framework Directive.

Transferability and Replicability

To ensure transferability and replicability of results, the project will implement a network of stakeholders to replicate and transfer the results by carrying out networking activities in:

• Italy
• Spain
• France

These activities will focus on areas facing similar threats for similar species.

Contribution to LIFE Work Programme

The project contributes to the LIFE work programme implementation by applying best practices considering 20 Natura 2000 sites and other adjacent areas.