In the Mediterranean Sea, more than 121,000 sea turtles are incidentally caught each
year by a variety of fishing gears, with more than 33,000 deaths and a mortality rate
ranging from 10 to 50% depending on the type of fishing gear. Defining how to
engage the fishers who are directly involved in incidental catches of turtles is critical
to raise their interest, increase awareness and foster their collaboration with the
scientific community and authorities. We developed a conceptual model to define the
objectives of sea turtle conservation (Final Targets, FTs) at a management, technical,
educational, and social level. The achievement of FTs was assessed through four
Indicators (interest, scepticism, awareness, cooperation) based on the perception and
behaviour of fishers. A 3-phase roadmap was set to engage fishers: 1) Meeting, it is
the initial contact between the scientific community and the fishers to create baseline
information on where, when, and how bycatch occurs; 2) Deepening the knowledge,
it mainly consists on trainings to increase fishers’ awareness of good practices and
sustainable fisheries; 3) In the field, where scientists and fishers test innovative
bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) aboard on commercial fishing vessel to
comprehend the perspective of fishers in terms of the technical solutions proposed by
scientists. Combining a theoretical and an empirical approach, this study provides
successful indications (bycatch hot-spots, technological innovation of fishing gear,
communication strategies, eco-labelling, improved sea turtle survivability) on how to
achieve large-scale sea turtle conservation, which could be replicated in other areas.