The Science of Marine Protected Areas (3rd edition, Mediterranean)

The main purpose of the booklet is to present the latest scientific information about the effects of MPAs in the Mediterranean in order to inform current management dialogues. This is particularly relevant given the increasing legislative frameworks and political initiatives to implement networks of MPAs in countries across the Mediterranean Sea. Importantly, this Edition does much more than simply tailor the earlier content for the Mediterranean region. The edition update the basic content of the booklet, drawing on the wealth of new published scientific literature, highlighting case studies from the Mediterranean Sea

The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats

The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. However, our estimates of marine diversity are still incomplete as yet—undescribed species will be added in the future. Diversity for microbes is substantially underestimated, and the deep-sea areas and portions of the southern and eastern region are still poorly known. In addition, the invasion of alien species is a crucial factor that will continue to change the biodiversity of the Mediterranean, mainly in its eastern basin that can spread rapidly northwards and westwards due to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial patterns showed a general decrease in biodiversity from northwestern to southeastern regions following a gradient of production, with some exceptions and caution due to gaps in our knowledge of the biota along the southern and eastern rims. Biodiversity was also generally higher in coastal areas and continental shelves, and decreases with depth. Temporal trends indicated that overexploitation and habitat loss have been the main human drivers of historical changes in biodiversity. At present, habitat loss and degradation, followed by fishing impacts, pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and the establishment of alien species are the most important threats and affect the greatest number of taxonomic groups. All these impacts are expected to grow in importance in the future, especially climate change and habitat degradation. The spatial identification of hot spots highlighted the ecological importance of most of the western Mediterranean shelves (and in particular, the Strait of Gibraltar and the adjacent Alboran Sea), western African coast, the Adriatic, and the Aegean Sea, which show high concentrations of endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species. The Levantine Basin, severely impacted by the invasion of species, is endangered as well

The catch characteristics of a set longline fishery in the FOÇA special environmental protection area, Turkey

Background. Fisheries activities are rarely documented in the marine and coastal protected areas in Turkey. This study aimed to determine the catch composition of set longline fishery in the Foça Special Environmental Protection Area (Turkey), and to understand the effects of factors (e.g., bait type, hook size, and soak time) on the catch per unit effort (CPUE) and the size of species caught. Material and methods. Samples were collected by small-scale fishing boats in 2007 at depths ranging from 1 to 50 m. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to understand if the CPUE changes depended on the fishery specific factors (hook size and bait type). Mann–Whitney U test was used to test if CPUE changes depended on sampling seasons (autumn and summer). Chi-square test was used to determine whether hook size influenced the body size of two commonly caught species. Results. The following 25 fish species were caught, Diplodus sargus, Sparus aurata, Diplodus vulgaris, Boops boops, Lithognathus mormyrus, Oblada melanura, Conger conger, Trachurus sp., Spondyliosoma cantharus, Pagellus erythrinus, Pagrus pagrus, Dentex dentex, Sciaena umbra, Scorpaena scrofa, Belone belone, Serranus sp., Myliobatidae gen. sp., Muraena helena, Sarpa salpa, Diplodus annularis, Coryphaena hippurus, Diplodus puntazzo, Chelidonichthys lucerna, Scomber japonicus, and Dicentrarchus labrax. The most commonly caught species were white seabream, Diplodus sargus and gilthead seabream Sparus aurata. The hook size and bait type were important factors that influenced the CPUE. Moreover, the hook size significantly influenced the body size of caught white seabream and gilthead sea bream. Conclusions. The discard level was low in the set longline fishery in the Foça Special Environmental Protection Area. We recommend using 12 sized hooks rather than 13 to reduce the discards of the main target species in the Foça SEPA. Nevertheless, this also needs an economic assessment, and also identification and use any incentives to promote the shift in the use of larger size hooks. Minimum size limits to be set in the fisheries legislation and alternative bait use studies were also recommended. © 2020, Scientific Society of Szczecin. All rights reserved