The Maltese Islands’ underwater world will be surveyed in a €2.6 million mapping project to mark new areas that could be included in the Natura 2000 network.

Called LIFE BaĦAR for N2K and 50 per cent co-financed by the EU LIFE+ Funding Programme, the project will mark the distribution of sandbanks, reefs and marine caves within Malta’s Fisheries Management Zone.

The project will gather new data and knowledge on the location and conservation status of the targeted marine habitats, data which so far has been very limited, according to the planning authority.

Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas throughout the EU and is considered the largest coherent group of protected areas in the world.

Marine surveys, covering an estimated 200,000 hectares, will be carried out by Oceana, the largest international advocacy organisation focused solely on marine conservation.

The surveys will be completed using scuba divers and a research vessel equipped with remotely operated vehicles.

The project is being led and co-ordinated by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in collaboration with the Environment Ministry, the Fisheries Department, the university’s Biology Department and Fundación Oceana.