Research for PECH Committee - Discard ban, landing obligation and MSY in the Western Mediterranean Sea - the Spanish case

The demersal fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea are heavily overfished but the landing obligation will not help to reach MSY because it will not decrease fishing mortality. The new proposal of the Commission introduces total allowable effort as a new way to regulate Western Mediterranean demersal fisheries by significantly reducing fishing time. However, this new management measure must be complemented with increased gear selectivity, implementation of closed areas and local co-management plans. Different approaches to reduce fishing mortality may have different socio-economic impact

Research for PECH Committee - Discard ban, landing obligation and MSY in the Western Mediterranean Sea - the Spanish case

The demersal fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea are heavily overfished but the landing obligation will not help to reach MSY because it will not decrease fishing mortality. The new proposal of the Commission introduces total allowable effort as a new way to regulate Western Mediterranean demersal fisheries by significantly reducing fishing time. However, this new management measure must be complemented with increased gear selectivity, implementation of closed areas and local co-management plans. Different approaches to reduce fishing mortality may have different socio-economic impact

Ten lessons on the resilience of the EU common fisheries policy towards climate change and fuel efficiency - A call for adaptive, flexible and well-informed fisheries management

To effectively future-proof the management of the European Union fishing fleets we have explored a suite of case studies encompassing the northeast and tropical Atlantic, the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas. This study shows that European Union (EU) fisheries are likely resilient to climate-driven short-term stresses, but may be negatively impacted by long-term trends in climate change. However, fisheries' long-term stock resilience can be improved (and therefore be more resilient to increasing changes in climate) by adopting robust and adaptive fisheries management, provided such measures are based on sound scientific advice which includes uncertainty. Such management requires regular updates of biological reference points. Such updates will delineate safe biological limits for exploitation, providing both high long-term yields with reduced risk of stock collapse when affected by short-term stresses, and enhanced compliance with advice to avoid higher than intended fishing mortality. However, high resilience of the exploited ecosystem does not necessarily lead to the resilience of the economy of EU fisheries from suffering shocks associated with reduced yields, neither to a reduced carbon footprint if fuel use increases from lower stock abundances. Fuel consumption is impacted by stock development, but also by changes in vessel and gear technologies, as well as fishing techniques. In this respect, energy-efficient fishing technologies already exist within the EU, though implementing them would require improving the uptake of innovations and demonstrating to stakeholders the potential for both reduced fuel costs and increased catch rates. A transition towards reducing fuel consumption and costs would need to be supported by the setup of EU regulatory instruments. Overall, to effectively manage EU fisheries within a changing climate, flexible, adaptive, well-informed and well-enforced management is needed, with incentives provided for innovations and ocean literacy to cope with the changing conditions, while also reducing the dependency of the capture fishing industry on fossil fuels. To support such management, we provide 10 lessons to characterize 'win-win' fishing strategies for the European Union, which develop leverages in which fishing effort deployed corresponds to Maximum Sustainable Yield targets and Common Fisheries Policy minimal effects objectives. In these strategies, higher catch is obtained in the long run, less fuel is spent to attain the catch, and the fisheries have a higher resistance and resilience to shock and long-term factors to face climate-induced stresses

Identification of Marine Biotechnology Value Chains with High Potential in the Northern Mediterranean Region

©2023. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This document is the Published, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Marine Drugs. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/ 10.3390/md21070416Marine (blue) biotechnology is an emerging field enabling the valorization of new products and processes with massive potential for innovation and economic growth. In the Mediterranean region, this innovation potential is not exploited as well as in other European regions due to a lack of a clear identification of the different value chains and the high fragmentation of business innovation initiatives. As a result, several opportunities to create an innovative society are being missed. To address this problem, eight Northern Mediterranean countries (Croatia, France, Greece Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) established five national blue biotechnology hubs to identify and address the bottlenecks that prevent the development of marine biotechnology in the region. Following a three-step approach (1. Analysis: setting the scene; 2. Transfer: identifi cation of promising value chains; 3. Capitalization: community creation), we identified the three value chains that are most promising for the Northern Mediterranean region: algae production for added-value compounds, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) and valorization aquacul ture/fisheries/processing by-products, unavoidable/unwanted catches and discards. The potential for the development and the technical and non-technical skills that are necessary to advance in this exciting field were identified through several stakeholder events which provided valuable insight and feedback that should be addressed for marine biotechnology in the Northern Mediterranean region to reach its full potential

Identification of Marine Biotechnology Value Chains with High Potential in the Northern Mediterranean Region

© 2023. The authors. This document is made available under the CC-BY 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by /4.0/ This document is the Accepted version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Marine Drugs. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.3390/md21070416Marine (blue) biotechnology is an emerging field enabling the valorization of new products and processes with massive potential for innovation and economic growth. In the Mediterranean region, this innovation potential is not exploited as well as in other European regions due to a lack of a clear identification of the different value chains and the high fragmentation of business innovation initiatives. As a result, several opportunities to create an innovative society are being missed. To address this problem, eight Northern Mediterranean countries (Croatia, France, Greece, Mar. Drugs 2023, 21, 416. https://doi.org/10.3390/md21070416 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/marinedrugs Mar. Drugs 2023, 21, 416 2 of 26 Italy, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) established five national blue biotechnology hubs to identify and address the bottlenecks that prevent the development of marine biotechnology in the region. Following a three-step approach (1. Analysis: setting the scene; 2. Transfer: identification of promising value chains; 3. Capitalization: community creation), we identified the three value chains that are most promising for the Northern Mediterranean region: algae production for added-value compounds, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) and valorization aquaculture/fisheries/processing by-products, unavoidable/unwanted catches and discards. The potential for the development and the technical and non-technical skills that are necessary to advance in this exciting field were identified through several stakeholder events which provided valuable insight and feedback that should be addressed for marine biotechnology in the Northern Mediterranean region to reach its full potential

Χαρακτηρισμός διαφόρων πληθυσμών Artemia spp. (Καρκινοειδή, Ανόστρακα)

Populations of the brine shrimp Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca) inhabit hypersaline environments and are found in all continents except Antarctica. The genus consists of a number of species, some of which reproduce asexually, others asexually, with various ploidy levels occurring among the asexual populations. Artemia can tolerate the widest salinity range of any known metazoan. It has the ability to produce either nauplii (ovoviviparous reproduction) or cysts (oviparous reproduction). Cysts are capable of prolonged diapause (endogenous dormant ametabolic state) and can ensure the survival of the organism under adverse conditions. Artemia is a popular organism as experimental material and is widely used in both applied and fundamental research. Its indispensable role as a food organism for the larviculture of fish and shellfish led to a consumption of 2,000 tonnes of cysts 10,000 tonnes of biomass in 1994.This thesis consists of 6 Parts and 13 Chapters, each of which is a stand-alone publication that was either accepted for publication (9 of them) when it was defended while 4 were submitted to journals and published shortly after it was supported.Πληθυσμοί της γαρίδας της άλμης Artemia (Crustacea, Anostraca) κατοικούν σε υπέραλα περιβάλλοντα και βρίσκονται σε όλες τις ηπείρους εκτός από την Ανταρκτική. Το γένος αποτελείται από έναν αριθμό ειδών, μερικά από τα οποία αναπαράγονται σεξουαλικά, άλλα ασεξουαλικά, με διάφορα επίπεδα πλοειδίας να εμφανίζονται μεταξύ των παρθενογενετικών πληθυσμών. Η Artemia μπορεί να ανεχθεί το μεγαλύτερο εύρος αλατότητας από οποιοδήποτε γνωστό μεταζώο. Έχει την ικανότητα να παράγει είτε ναυπλίους (ωοζωοτόκος αναπαραγωγή) είτε κύστεις (ωοτόκος αναπαραγωγή). Οι κύστεις είναι ικανές για παρατεταμένη διάπαυση (μία ενδογενή αδρανή μεταβολική κατάσταση) που μπορούν να εξασφαλίσουν την επιβίωση του οργανισμού κάτω από εξαιρετικά αντίξοες συνθήκες. Η Artemia είναι ένας δημοφιλής οργανισμός ως πειραματικό υλικό και χρησιμοποιείται ευρέως τόσο στην εφαρμοσμένη όσο και στη βασική έρευνα. Ο απαραίτητος ρόλος του ως ζωντανή τροφή για την καλλιέργεια ψαριών και οστρακοειδών οδήγησε σε κατανάλωση 2.000 τόνων κύστεων και 10.000 τόνων βιομάζας το 1994.Η διατριβή αυτή αποτελείται από 6 Ενότητες και 13 Κεφάλαια, κάθε ένα από τα οποία αποτελεί μια αυτοτελή δημοσίευση που είτε είχε γίνει δεκτή προς δημοσίευση (οι 9) όταν υποστηρίχτηκε ενώ οι 4 είχαν υποβληθεί σε περιοδικά και δημοσιεύτηκαν λίγο καιρό μετά την υποστήριξή της

A multi-criteria assessment of policies to achieve the objectives of the EU marine litter strategy

This paper proposes and assesses policy options to achieve the objectives of the EU marine litter strategy, based on the existing EU legislation. A group of experts and stakeholders was involved through a multi-staged workshop organized to generate the information to assess the contribution of the policies to the set of objectives, as well as the relative importance of the objectives, on qualitative scales. The ELECTRE TRI multi-criteria decision analysis method was used to rate the policies, which were subsequently ranked. Per the results, all policies deserve to be considered, even when the more pessimistic assessments (33rd percentile) are used. Revising the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, setting legislative targets on marine litter and ensure they are fully monitored, and funding proven clean-up technologies were deemed to be the most potentially impactful policies. The remaining policies assessed can nevertheless play an important role in complementing the higher-ranked policies