The Content of Meetings & the Speaker Presentations
For each of the 4 training seminars for fishermen, a program was prepared a priori with presentations from expert speakers, which was faithfully followed in all meetings.
In the first meeting, after the initial briefing of the participants on the progress, actions, and goals of the aliAmvra project by a representative of the Project Team, presentations by specialized speakers followed.
The presenter at the first meeting of each seminar was ichthyologist Evangelia Gouva, E.DI.P. member of the Department of Agriculture of the University of Ioannina, who conducted a three-hour informative presentation entitled “People and Ambracian Gulf: A Life Story.” The second presenter was Dimitris Barellos, environmental manager at the Management Unit of Acheloos Valley and Amvrakikos Gulf Protected Areas of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (N.E.C.C.A), who mentioned, in his presentation entitled “Biodiversity and the Ecosystem of the Ambracian Gulf”, to the ecological importance of the Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park, as well as the significance of Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park for the bird population.
In the second meeting, the first presenter was Mr. Barellos, who elaborated on the topic “The Ambracian Gulf as a Protected Area.” The program continued with Ms. Gouva’s presentation. As an ichthyologist, she delivered a two-hour informative presentation entitled “Ambracian is dying,” in which she briefly addressed the problems leading to the “slow death” of the Ambracian Gulf.
In the third meeting, the first presenter was Ms. Gouva, who introduced “Biological, Genetic, Biochemical, and Quality Characteristics of Ambracian Gulf Fish (Sardine, shrimp, Grey Mullet).” This was followed by Mr. Nathanailidis’s presentation titled “Dynamics of Fish Populations – The Issue of Fisheries Management,” in which he initially discussed the fish species living and reproducing in the Ambracian Gulf, followed by the issue of fisheries management.
In the fourth meeting, Mr. Nathanailidis presented, in his presentation entitled “Pollution Issues in the Ambracian Gulf”, the main environmental problems and threats faced by the Gulf. Subsequently, Mr. Barellos addressed the urgent issue of climate change. In his presentation entitled “Pollution in the Ambracian – Impact of Climate Change,” he discussed the future problems that climate change could bring to the Ambracian Gulf.
The topic highlighted in the fifth meeting by Ms. Gouva was “Heavy Metals and Their Impact on Aquatic Organisms.” The second presenter was Professor Kosmas Nathanailidis from the Department of Agriculture at the University of Ioannina. In his two-hour informative presentation titled “How Much is Ambracian Gulf at Risk from Invasive Species?” he discussed the potential threats posed by invasive species to the Ambracian Gulf.