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Publications (43)
The evaluation of the status of marine communities, and especially the monitoring of those heavily exploited by fisheries, is a key, challenging task in marine sciences. Fishing activities are a major source of disruption to marine food webs, both directly, by selectively removing components at specific trophic levels (TL), and indirectly, by alter...
This poster showcases an attempt to address the discard reduction using a guarding net in the small-scale fisheries of Egadi Islands MPA (Western Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea). Key results were shown, with important resultant data. We also shared some concluding remarks.
Between September and October 2021, a total of seven adult specimens (five females and two males) of Umbrina ronchus Valenciennes, 1843 were caught in the waters off Portopalo di Capo Passero and Porto Empedocle (the southeastern coast of Sicily). This was the first record of this species in the Strait of Sicily and the deepest record of this speci...
Introduction
Most Mediterranean fish stocks are overexploited owing to high fishing efforts and poor exploitation patterns. Demersal trawl fisheries are considered the most impactful fishery type because of the high quantities of unwanted catch that is then routinely discarded at sea.
Methods
In the present study, two types of by-catch reduction d...
Discards remain among the main negative impacts of fishing activities, and their reductions are strengthened by the European Common Fisheries Policy (European Regulation 1380/2013). Trammel net fisheries appear more sustainable compared with other fishing techniques, especially from an ecological viewpoint. Despite this, reports show that trammel n...
Among the main measures adopted to reduce anthropogenic impacts on elasmobranch communities, understanding the ecology of deep-sea sharks is of paramount importance, especially for potentially vulnerable species highly represented in the bycatch composition of commercial fisheries such as the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus. In the present wo...
Holothurians or sea cucumbers are key organisms in marine ecosystems that, by ingesting large quantities of sediments, provide important ecosystem services. Among them, Parastichopus regalis (Cuvier, 1817) is one of the living sea cucumbers in the Mediterranean actively fished for human consumption mainly in Spain, where it is considered a gastrono...
1. The Mediterranean starry ray (Raja asterias) populations within the Mediterranean Sea are susceptible to high rates of bycatch in the multispecies trawl fisheries. Understanding its population structure and identifying critical habitats are crucial for assessing species vulnerability and setting the groundwork for specific management measures to...
In the Mediterranean Sea, the catch of bottom trawl fisheries is composed of a complex mix of fish and invertebrates with a considerable amount of discards. Seasonal composition of catches and discards of bottom trawls operating at different depths in the central Tyrrhenian Sea were investigated from October 2014 to October 2015. The mean total cat...
The black coral Leiopathes glaberrima is an important habitat forming species that supports benthic biodiversity. Due to its high sensitivity to fishing activities, it has been classified as indicator of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). However, the information on its habitat selection and large-scale spatial distribution in the Mediterranean S...
Chondrichthyan egg cases are important elements for species-specific identification and also provide a valuable aid in determining a species spatial distribution, as well as for defining spawning areas. Considering the absence of a general key for the identification of the egg cases of the Mediterranean Chondrichthyes, this work aims to fill this g...
The Strait of Sicily (SoS) is a key area in the Central Mediterranean Sea characterized by high biodiversity and demersal fisheries productivity. Further, it is traditionally considered the main biogeographic boundary between the Western and Eastern basins of the Mediterranean. Due to the poor knowledge on the benthos composition and distribution i...
The actual occurrence of Squalus megalops in the Mediterranean Sea has recently been questioned. Several research works
which sought to assess available morphological and meristic features that differentiate S. megalops from other Squalus species in
the Mediterranean Sea, revealed poor discriminatory power and high variability of the assessed chara...
Abundance, composition, and distribution of macro-litter found on the seafloor of the Strait of Sicily between 10 and 800 m depth has been studied using data collected by bottom trawl surveys MEDITS from 2015 to 2019. Three waste categories based on the items use were considered: single-use, fishing-related and generic-use. Over 600 sampling sites,...
Reducing the impact on vulnerable species through changes in fishing practices, such as the spatial or temporal avoidance of certain areas, is key to increase the ecological sustainability of fisheries. However, it is often hampered by the availability of sufficiently detailed data and robust indicators. Existing trawl surveys are a cost-effective...
Two specimens of the uncommon calappid crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 are reported from the central Mediterranean. One juvenile individual was caught in a trawl net at about 105 m depth on a detritus bottom, and one adult male was caught in a trammel net at 50 m depth in a similar habitat. Details about carapace ornamentation and fresh color...
Two specimens of the uncommon calappid crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 are reported from the central Mediterranean. One juvenile individual was caught in a trawl net at about 105 m depth on a detritus bottom, and one adult male was caught in a trammel net at 50 m depth in a similar habitat. Details about carapace ornamentation and fresh color...
This study focuses on the ontogenetic diet change of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) in the north sector of the Strait of Sicily (SoS), central Mediterranean Sea. The species is one of the most important fish predators within the Mediterranean marine ecosystem and one of the main target species for local fisheries. A total of 2669 hake specim...
Leiopathes glaberrima is an important component of the deep coral forests of the Mediterranean Sea enhancing benthic biodiversity and forming an essential habitat for many marine organisms. It is a sessile species with high longevity; it is therefore highly affected by fishing impacts and has been listed as a representative taxon of Vulnerable Mari...
Deep-sea coral assemblages are key components of marine ecosystems that generate habitats for fish and invertebrate communities and act as marine biodiversity hot spots. Because of their life history traits, deep-sea corals are highly vulnerable to human impacts such as fishing. They are an indicator of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), therefor...
The report includes and examines the list of taxonomists from IAMC (Institute for Coastal Marine Environment), IGG (Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources), ISE (Institute of Ecosystem Study), and ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences), who responded to the Taxonomy Census 2016, their scientific publications and the number of taxa described new...
Discarding in fisheries is the fraction of the total catch brought on board and returned to the sea dead or alive for legal or economic reasons. The reduction of discard is one of the main objectives of the European Common Fishery Policy. This study aimed to improve the current knowledge of the discard associated with the deep-water rose shrimp (DP...
Spawning period of Atlantic horse mackerel, Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758), in the Strait of Sicily was investigated using data collected by monitoring of commercial catches in 2009-2015. Spawning months were identified by the analyses of percentage of mature specimens throughout the year. A synchronism of occurrence of mature specimens of bo...
The main goal of this investigation was to test the effectiveness in reducing the "unwanted" catch of benthic invertebrates in the Egadi Marine Protected Area by adding of a mono-cloth band net mounted to the base of the traditional trammel net. Forty-eight “ad hoc” hauls were conducted using six experimental fishing net. Each experimental trammel...
The main goal of this study was to test the effectiveness in reducing the ”unwanted” catch of benthic invertebrates in the Egadi Marine Protected Area by adding of a mono-cloth band net mounted to the base of the traditional trammel net. Forty-eight “ad hoc” hauls were conducted using six experimental fishing net. Each experimental trammel net was...
In this Collective Article on “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records”, we present additional records of species found in the Mediterranean Sea. These records refer to eight different countries throughout the northern part of the basin, and include 28 species, belonging to five phyla. The findings per country include the following species: Spain: C...
Time-series of abundance indices of deep sea demersal resources (501-800m) derived by the MEDITS trawl survey in the Strait of Sicily (GSA 16) were analysed and aggregated by taxa (bony fish, cartilaginous fish, cephalopods and crustaceans) and species using a polynomial approach. The results showed a significant increasing trend for the cartilagin...
20years abundance time series of bony fish, cartilaginous fish, cephalopods and crustaceans from MEDITS survey in the South of Sicily (GSA 16) were analyzed using a trend approach and short term prediction. Cartilaginous fish, cephalopods and crustaceans displayed an increasing trend both in biomass and number, whereas bony fish exhibited an oscill...
Four specimens from 442 to 490 mm total length of Notomyxine tridentiger (Garman, 1899) (Myxiniformes, Myxinidae) were caught by trawling off Uruguay coasts from December 2013 to February 2014. According to the available literature, these specimens are the first records for the Uruguayan waters.
The capture of large amounts of small, immature fish of commercial species is a serious problem particularly in multispecies fisheries. Moreover, considerable and increasing interest is being devoted by fishery scientists to identify the distribution and habitat needs of species throughout their life cycle. To elucidate species composition, the abu...
The rare findings of specimens in larval or post-larval stages (6 phyllosomas and 7 nistos/early juveniles) belonging to the family Scyllaridae are reported for the waters around Sicily. Some were stranded on different winter occasions near the Strait of Messina (north–eastern Sicily), while others were collected during experimental trawl surveys c...
Deep-sea benthic habitats are still poorly investigated. Only 5-10% of deep seafloors have been mapped with a detail similar to the subaerial environment and most of the research is related to shallow-water areas (< 50-100 m w.d., e.g. Posidonia oceanica and coralligenous in the Mediterranean Sea). As a consequence deep-sea habitats are poorly know...
A specimen of the rare crab, Heterocrypta maltzami (Decapoda, Brachyura, Parthenophidae) was caught during a bottom trawl survey in the Strait of Sicily in 2004, on the African shelf off Lampedusa Island (central Mediterranean Sea), at a depth of about 90 m. This individual, a female of 10 mm carapace length and 12 mm carapace width, represents the...
The main aspects of reproduction - namely times of ovarian maturation, brooding and hatching, sizes of maturation and fecundity - were studied in female Norway lobsters in seven areas of the Mediterranean biogeographic subprovince: the Algarve Sea, the Alboran Sea, the Catalan Sea, the Ligurian Sea, the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea and...
The main aspects of reproduction - namely times of ovarian maturation, brooding and hatching, sizes of maturation and fecundity - were studied in female Norway lobsters in seven areas of the Mediterranean biogeographic subprovince: the Algarve Sea, the Alboran Sea, the Catalan Sea, the Ligurian Sea, the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea, the Adriatic Sea and...
The presence of Stoloteuthis leucoptera in the Mediterranean is recorded on the basis of three specimens, including an adult male, caught by IKMT and by commercial otter-trawl in the Ligurian Sea. The hypothesis of a recent immigration is discussed.
The list of Mediterranean cephalopods (Mangold Wirz, 1963; Torchio, 1968; Bello, 1986; Mangold & Bol...
