The manager of the Réserve Naturelle Marine de Cerbère-Banyuls wanted to update the mapping of Posidonia meadows, a protected species identified as a priority habitat. This long-term monitoring project, scheduled for 2018 as part of the Reserve’s management plan, enabled us to assess the state of conservation of the meadows by integrating new technologies, and also to fill in the gaps observed in the mapping of shallow coastal waters.

The integration of these new technologies was essential to obtain fine maps of our habitats and to be able to compare them over the long term.

The renewal of this study was necessary in order to detect any potential impact on the habitat and propose management measures. This detailed mapping enabled us to measure the evolution of the Reserve’s seagrass beds, and to anticipate pressure on this environment by implementing appropriate measures and tools.