Andreas Palialexis

European Commission | ec · Joint Research Centre (JRC)

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potentia...

Anthropogenic activities have transformed the pelagic habitat in the last decades with profound implications for its essential functions. While the EU-Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC and the Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 have set criteria and methodological standards for the assessment and determination of Good Environmental Stat...

The EU's MSFD introduced a holistic approach to the management of anthropogenic activities that impact the marine environment. The ecosystem approach to management is based on 11 qualitative and interconnected Descriptors for the Good Environmental Status of the marine environment. The implementation of the MSFD generated a dynamic across the Europ...

Environmental policies, including the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), generally rely on the measurement of indicators to assess the good environmental status (GES) and ensure the protection of marine ecosystems. However, depending on available scientific knowledge and monitoring programs in place, quantitative GES assessments a...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires that Good Environmental Status (GES) should be achieved in EU marine waters as described by eleven environmental Descriptors, each of them assessed by several GES Criteria. At the core of the GES assessment lies the need for threshold values (TVs) which enable a quantitative assessment of envi...

Chapter 1.1: Purpose and scope The purpose of this Document is to guide Member States in the review and update of the assessment of their marine waters in respect of each marine region or subregion, according to Article 17(2)(a) in conjunction with Articles 8(1) and 9(1) MSFD, which is due for reporting by 15 October 2024 and in subsequent reportin...

An efficient ocean management for fisheries requires accurate data over large spatial scales. The horizontal gradient of chlorophyll-a (and the derived mesozooplankton habitat) exemplifies a plankton-to-fish index in support of a sustainable ocean management that targets fisheries and ecosystem productivity. The gradient of chlorophyll-a, which exp...

The presence of invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea is much higher than in other European seas, and understanding the reasons behind the range expansion of this invasive species is important for minimising any possible impacts to the already highly pressurised Mediterranean marine ecosystem. In this work, a brief description of sightings of t...

Summary: https://marine.copernicus.eu/news/ocean-state-report-5-summary-now-available Full report: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1755876X.2021.1946240

Recommendations to frame problems and solutions for the pelagic habitats’ assessment

Implementing European marine policies in the deep waters of the North Atlantic

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract This study evaluates the relationship between both commercial and scientific spatial fisheries data and a new satellite-based estimate o...

Supplementary Information of : Mesoscale productivity fronts and local fishing opportunities in the European Seas. Fish and Fisheries, 00, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12585

The species status assessment for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is structured around five Good Environmental Status (GES) criteria, i.e., by-catch rate, population abundance, population demographic characteristics, species distribution and habitat for the species. The MSFD Biodiversity theme for species includes, among others, some highly...

Abstract This report reviews the integration methods for MSFD biodiversity assessments under Descriptor 1 for species that are not covered by the Habitats Directive and are not commercial fish assessed under Descriptor 3 and used in Descriptor 1 assessments. It was carried out by experts from the MSFD Biodiversity expert network, which is coordina...

The current report analyses the information provided by the European Union Member States (MS) on Themes – sea-floor integrity and benthic habitats, relating to Descriptors 6 and 1 - of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, EU 2008). The reported information by the MS follows the Article 17 requirements of the MSFD for updating Articles 8,...

The report analyses the information provided by the European Union’s Member States (MS) for the species theme of Descriptor 1 (D1) – species groups of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and cephalopods (relating to Descriptor 1) – of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The reported information by the MS follows the MSFD Article 17 requireme...

The current report analyses the information provided by the European Union Member States (MS) on Theme – ecosystem, including food webs, relating to Descriptor 1 and 4 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in updating Articles 8 (GES assessment), 9 (GES determination) and 10 (targets) of the Directive, for the last 6-year MSFD reporting...

Eutrophication is one of the most important anthropogenic pressures impacting coastal seas. In Europe, several legislations and management measures have been implemented to halt nutrient overloading in marine ecosystems. This study evaluates the impact of freshwater nutrient control measures on higher trophic levels (HTL) in European marine ecosyst...

This report reviews the current situation as regards to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 1 (Biodiversity) for pelagic habitats and serves as a basis for a workshop with Member States experts and scientists that will be held on March 9-10 2021. Recommendations are in the concluding section. Pelagic habitats cover the 71% of...

Evaluating environmental policies creates opportunities for harmonising and refining their implementation using a heuristic approach, and considering the knowledge gaps in understanding the complex environmental processes. The European Union’s (EU) Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is an ambitious legislation that brings together state, pr...

Divulgative paper published in Journal Eco Magazine, Deep Sea Issue

The deep sea is the largest biome on Earth but the least explored. Our knowledge of it comes from scattered sources spanning different spatial and temporal scales. Implementation of marine policies like the European Union's Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and support for Blue Growth in the deep sea are therefore hindered by lack of data....

Many of the marine policy frameworks developed to protect biodiversity in deep-sea areas, including areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), include indicators to assess policy objectives. These frameworks often have specific guidance on how the indicators should be applied and interpreted. Selection of indicators is an important process and thos...

Refined baseline inventories of non-indigenous species (NIS) are set per European Union Member State (MS), in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The inventories are based on the initial assessment of the MSFD (2012) and the updated data of the European Alien Species Information Network, in collaboration with NIS experts...

The inconsistency in the determination of the Good Environmental Status for species assessment under the first cycle of the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive emerged in a harmonisation exercise. This exercise was launched with the species’ identification of MSFD Descriptor’s 1 concern and the collection of the operational or developing indic...

This study investigates the association between an index of mesozooplankton biomass, derived from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey and satellite-derived productivity fronts in the North Atlantic. While chlorophyll-a content (CHL) is commonly described as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, the size of productivity fronts estimated from the ho...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

As a response to increasing human pressures on marine ecosystems, the legislation aimed at improving the conservation and management of marine coastal areas in European and Contiguous Seas (ECS) underwent crucial advances. ECS, however, still remain largely affected by increasing threats leading to biodiversity loss. Here, by using emblematic case...

Modern approaches to Ecosystem-Based Management and sustainable use of marine resources must account for the myriad of pressures (interspecies, human and environmental) affecting marine ecosystems. The network of feeding interactions between co-existing species and populations (food webs) are an important aspect of all marine ecosystems and biodive...

In-Depth Assessment of the EU Member States' Submissions for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive under Articles 8, 9 and 10 on Hydrographical Conditions Descriptor 7 2014 Report EUR 26800 EN Please replace with an image illustrating your report and align it with the bottom edge of the cover. Make sure the blue JRC footer reaches the bottom of t...

A considerable amount of the existing knowledge of discards in the Mediterranean Sea is presented. Discarding highly varies along the basin both geographically and among the different fishing gears with bottom trawls being responsible for the bulk of discards, since they are characterized by high discards ratios. Midwater trawls, purse-seines, and...

To reduce the practice of discarding commercially fished organisms, several measures such as a discard ban and extra allowances on top of landings quotas (“catch quota”) have been proposed by the European Commission. However, for their development and successful implementation, an understanding of discard patterns on a European scale is needed. In...

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) foresees that by 15 July 2012, Member States had to provide information on the initial assessment (article 8 of the directive), on the determination of good environmental status (GES - article 9) and on the establishment of environmental targets and associated indicators (article 10). An In-Depth Asses...

The document has been prepared by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) with the contribution of experts from Member States, Regional Seas Conventions and ICES and following consultation of the Working Group on Good Environmental Status. The document should be regarded as presenting an informal consensus position on best practi...

Discards refer to the part of the catch not retained on board during commercial fishing operations, but returned to the sea. The proposed European Union Common Fisheries Policy reform, to be implemented in 2014, sets out a gradual elimination of discards by reducing unwanted catches and ensuring that all catches are landed. To develop successful di...

Accurate prediction of species distributions based on sampling and environmental data is essential for further scientific analysis, such as stock assessment, detection of abundance fluctuation due to climate change or overexploitation, and to underpin management and legislation processes. The evolution of computer science and statistics has allowed...

The response of larval fish communities of the northeastern Aegean Sea (NEA) to interannual environmental changes is analyzed using data from four ichthyoplankton surveys covering the NEA continental shelf during June 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. Waters were significantly cooler, less saline and richer in zooplankton in 1993 and 1996 (‘cold’ years)...

The accurate representation of species distribution derived from sampled data is essential for management purposes and to underpin population modelling. Additionally, the prediction of species distribution for an expanded area, beyond the sampling area can reduce sampling costs. Here, several well-established and recently developed habitat modellin...

This work proposes an architectural style, a pattern, for spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). This style provides a tool and a shared vocabulary to help system architects to design these infrastructures, and facilitates the exchange of knowledge about ...

The invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi was accidentally introduced into the Black Sea in the early 1980s and it was first sighted in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) in the early 1990s. This article presents a first attempt to develop a predictive spatial model based on M. leidyi presence data and satellite environmental data from the Aege...

Illex coindetii is the most common benthic ommastrephid squid exploited by bottom trawl in the Mediterranean Sea. A recent study examining trends in population metrics based on data from the International Bottom Trawl Surveys in the Mediterranean (MEDITS) has shown an increasing trend in average lengths of I. coindetii sampled in the eastern Ionian...

Populations of small pelagic fish support important fisheries in Spanish Mediterranean waters, particularly sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), and are distributed along the entire length of the Spanish continental shelf. Using annual acoustic survey data for the years 2003–2005, a GIS-based environmental modelling ap...

We review the variety of existing modelling approaches applied to species habitat mapping and we discuss issues arising from the availability and nature of sampled biological data and corresponding ecological and environmental habitat descriptors, as well as the different spatial analysis approaches that are selected according to specific hypothese...

Populations of small pelagic fish support important fisheries in Spanish Mediterranean waters, particularly sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), and are distributed along the entire length of the Spanish continental shelf. Using annual acoustic survey data for the years 2003–2005, a GIS-based environmental modelling ap...

Despite the importance of the recruitment process for small pelagic fish and the high economic importance of European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, Walbaum 1792) in the Mediterranean Sea, knowledge on the distribution and environmental characteristics of its nursery grounds is very limited. In the present study, we used pelagic trawl data collected...

Acoustic and satellite environmental data as well as bathymetry data were used to model the presence of anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus during early summer in the northern Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were used for modelling and subsequently applied in a predictive mode to identify those areas in the Greek...

The present work examines the size specific distribution of anchovy and sardine in the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean basin) during early summer. Data from pelagic trawl hauls, multivariate methods, certain satellite environmental data and area topographic characteristics were used in order to identify the parameters that could discriminate the...

Acoustic survey data were combined with environmental features from satellite imagery to investigate the relationship between the spatial distribution of European sardine (i.e. acoustic data from June 2004 and 2005), of the Greek seas (Eastern Mediterranean basin). Generalized Additive Models were then applied in order to identify the link of sardi...

A new method (the 'sink' method) is proposed for the mapping of productive mesoscale oceanic thermal fronts based on the combined analysis of satellite imagery for sea surface temperature (SST) distribution and chlorophyll (CHL) concentration under a Geographic Information System (GIS). In an SST lattice data array, data value sinks describe hetero...

Proper designation of essential fish habitat (EFH) is a highly important spatial measure in any management of fishery resources. EFH is characterised by an aggregation of abiotic and biotic parameters that are suitable for supporting and sustaining fish populations during all stages of their life cycle. We propose a multi-parameter model that inclu...