La Saison Bleue is preparing to welcome and extend a warm welcome to the OceanoScientific Coral Reefs Expedition Tunisia 2024 to the Kerkennah Islands and Bizerte.

Starting in mid-April, the Lagoon 570 LOVE THE OCEAN catamaran, based at Ponton K of the Mer & Development Nautical Pole (Nautismed) in Port Saint Louis du Rhône, will set sail for this significant scientific expedition in the western Mediterranean basin.

This adventure will provide an opportunity to implement joint actions with the La Saison Bleue association, presided over by Rym Benzina Bourguiba, who is also the godmother of the expedition, and in collaboration with Theresa Zabell (Spain) from LOVE THE OCEAN. The planned stops at Kerkennah and Bizerte will offer an ideal platform for conducting joint actions aimed at protecting and studying the marine ecosystems of the region.

The choice of Kerkennah as the first stop is motivated by their longstanding production of commercial sponges, making them a crucial sanctuary for bird conservation as well. With nearly 150 species of sponges identified in Tunisia, including five with commercial potential, the expedition aims to restore favorable conditions for the development of these marine resources, which have significantly declined due to overfishing, pollution, and water warming.

As for the choice of Bizerte as a stop, it is strategic, as this port city is located at the northernmost tip of Africa. This is also where, since 2018, under the presidency of Pascal Lamy, Forum Mondial de la Mer Bizerte has been held, the only international event dedicated to maritime issues on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, annually hosted by La Saison Bleue, and its seventh edition will be held from September 12 to 13, 2024.

On the agenda:

From April 23 to 26 in Kerkennah and Sfax:

• Meetings with scientific experts in the field of sponges,

• Organizing dives to assess the situation and discuss sponge reintroduction projects in a Marine Protected Area,

• Meeting on Kerkennah Islands with eco-delegates from the International School of Sfax. These students are engaged in environmental and sustainable development programs.

From April 28 to 30 in Bizerte:

• Press conference organized by La Saison Bleue on April 29,

• Awareness campaign in partnership with the Alliance Française of Bizerte involving a meeting with students engaged in environmental conservation.

Contact:

Email: contact@lasaisonbleue.com

Tel: 29 190 882

                                                                                                                                                               Press release La Saison Bleue