Luca Lanteri

University of Genoa | UNIGE · Dipartimento di Scienze della terra, dell'ambiente e della vita (DISTAV)

Cartilaginous fishes have large and elaborate olfactory organs, but only a small repertoire of olfactory receptor genes. Here, we quantitatively analyze the olfactory system of 21 species of sharks and rays, assessing many features of the olfactory organ (OOR) (number of primary lamellae, branches of the secondary folds, sensory surface area, and d...

Nel settembre 2021 il ritrovamento accidentale di tre neonati di Caretta caretta a Finale Ligure (SV) ha permesso alla comunità scientifica di accertare il primo caso noto di nidificazione di questa specie sulle coste liguri. L’anno successivo, nella notte del 15 luglio, è stata osservata una femmina di C. caretta deporre sulla spiaggia libera di L...

This study compares the skeletal calcification pattern of batoid Raja asterias with the endochondral ossification model of mammalians Homo sapiens and teleost Xiphias gladius . Skeletal mineralization serves to stiffen the mobile elements for locomotion. Histology, histochemistry, heat deproteination, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/EDAX analysi...

The macroscopic and microscopic morphology of the appendicular skeleton was studied in the two species Raja asterias (order Rajiformes) and Torpedo marmorata (Order Torpediniformes), comparing the organization and structural layout of pectoral, pelvic, and tail fin systems. The shape, surface area and portance of the T. marmorata pectoral fin syste...

Three specimens of Silver John dory, Zenopsis conchifer, (Lowe, 1852) were observed for the first time in the Ligurian Sea and northern Tyrrhenian Sea (western Mediterranean), one in 2020 and two in 2021. This is the fifth record (up to ten individuals) of Z. conchifer in the Mediterranean Sea, which occurred 11 years after the last observation in...

An individual crucifix crab Charybdis (Charybdis) feriata was recorded in the northern Ligurian Sea (Genova, Italy) in February 2022. This non-native species was observed previously twice off the coast of Catalunia (Spain) and once in the southern Ligurian Sea (Livorno, Italy). As the species was “credited at least two reliable records, distinct in...

The status of contamination by chemical pollutants on large filter feeding sharks is still largely unknown. This study investigated for the first time the presence of legacy, emerging contaminants and trace elements in multiple tissues of basking sharks. In general, skin showed higher concentration of legacy and emerging contaminants probably due t...

The Mediterranean Sea has a long-lasting history of fishery exploitation that, together with other anthropogenic impacts, has led to declines in several marine organisms. In particular, elasmobranch populations have been severely impacted, with drastic decreases in abundance and species diversity. Based on their experience, fishers can provide info...

The first record of Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso, 1810 off Calabrian coast (Southern Italy, Central Mediterranean) is reported. The specimen, a male of 361 mm total length, was found at a depth of 7 m during a scientific visual census research activity, in March 2017. The sighting was located off the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria (Paola: 39.355453N, 1...

The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains over 3000 records (more than 4000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 20 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The main species included in the archive are the devil fish (1 813 individuals), the basking shark (...

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) are characterized by prominent biological features susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances. Following international guidelines, the identification and protection of VMEs require a detailed documentation regarding both the community structure and the fishing footprint in the area. This combined information is la...

According to Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006, regarding management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, Member States are expected to adopt management plans for fisheries conducted by specific fishing gear types (trawl nets, boats seines, shore seines, surrounding nets and dredges) within the...

Maturity is one of the most relevant biological parameters used in stock assessment programmes. Indeed, the macroscopic stage of gonadal development is an essential feature in estimating the maturity ogive and spawning stock biomass (SSB). It is also useful for determining the spawning season of a species and for monitoring long-term changes in the...

Fish age, among other biological parameters, is one of the most relevant pieces of data in reaching sustainable exploitation of fishery resources. Indeed, most analytical methods used in stock assessment require knowledge of demographic structure according to the age of stocks, as well as to recruitment, growth, maturity, natural mortality, etc., w...

Few stock assessments of elasmobranchs have been conducted in the Mediterranean due to the lack of available detailed and precise information. In recent years, in the Mediterranean Sea a major concern on the status of this group does exist and consequently scientists and managers have paid a major attention on the collection of data of fisheries in...

Otolith reading bias for juvenile Atlantic bluefin tuna was detected at its 2017 assessment. To try to reduce this bias, the current standardized reading protocol was revised. The new protocol uses age estimates from the first dorsal fin ray (spine) to identify the growth increments in the otoliths removed from the same young specimen. An exchange...

In the Mediterranean Sea, Aristaeomorpha foliacea and Aristeus antennatus are the most important target species of deep-sea trawl fisheries. Previous studies performed in several areas of the Mediterranean highlighted the key role played by both environmental factors, such as temperature, and anthropogenic activities, such as fishing, in affecting...

This paper presents the observations carried out on a swordfish specimen tagged with pop up and traditional tags in August 2005 in the Ligurian Sea and recaptured in the same area in September 2016, after more than 11 years at liberty. The analysis of the anal fin sections allowed to determine the age and the pattern of annual rings formation. A su...

On 9th September 2015 the head of a shark belonging to the genus Alopias, was landed at Camogli harbour in the Ligurian Sea (North Western Mediterranean). The specimen has been caught 16 miles far from the coast (44° 06' N, 008° 57' E) as by-catch of the mesopelagic swordfish longline, but only the head was recovered, due to the predatory/scavengin...

The illegal use of driftnets targeting large pelagic species, such as swordfish and bluefin tuna, continues to be reported in some Mediterranean countries and to cause concern due to the high risk of bycatch of protected species (chiefly marine mammals and sea turtles). In May 2014, the European Commission announced its intention to adopt a univers...

This study presents age and growth parameters of albacore Thunnus alalunga from the Mediterranean Sea, derived on the basis of dorsal fin spine section readings. 379 specimens were collected during the period 2003 – 2016 in the Southern Ionian Sea and Ligurian Sea in the framework of different research programs funded by the EU and the Italian Gove...

On 9th September 2015 the head of a shark belonging to the genus Alopias, was landed at Camogli harbour in the Ligurian Sea (North Western Mediterranean). The specimen has been caught 16 miles far from the coast (44° 06’ N, 008° 57’ E) as by-catch of the mesopelagic longline swordfish fishery, but only the head was recovered, due to the predatory/s...

The ICES Planning Group on Commercial Catch, Discards and Biological Sampling (PGCCDBS) identified the need of the Horse Mackerel, Mediterranean Horse Mackerel and Blue Jack Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus, T. mediterreaneus and T. picturatus) otolith exchange to take place in 2015. It was the forth exchange. The IFREMER institute and the COISPA Tecn...

This note is aimed to identify and characterize the small-scale driftnet fisheries in Italy. During the investigations, performed in March-October 2013, 99 vessels belonging to eight fisheries were identified. The fisheries are very specialised: by-catch is often negligible, as well as the overall impact on the environment. The nets used were size...

Few formal stock assessments of elasmobranchs have been conducted in the Mediterranean. This because the information needed is not enough detailed and precise. In recent years, also in the Mediterranean Sea a major concern on the exploitation status of the stocks, belonging to this group, is increased and scientists and managers have paid a major a...

The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 2000 records (n>3000 individuals) of large elasmobranchs species from 20 different countries around the Mediterranean Sea caught or observed from 1666 to 2014. The main species represented in the archive are devil rays (736 individuals), basking sharks (682 indivi...

Small driftnets of limited length and relatively small mesh size to catch small/medium sized species have been used for generations by many artisanal fleets along the Mediterranean coasts, without major environmental concerns. Problems started in the late 70s-80s when the use of driftnets with larger meshes and much greater overall size targeting m...

The fishery of the transparent goby Aphia minuta (Risso, 1918) is allowed from 2011 to 2014 in GSA 9 (Tuscany and Liguria) on the basis of a management plan in derogation to the EU Regulation 1967/2006. Following the Ligurian fleet, the total catch was 614.3 kg in 2011/12 and 1207.3 kg in 2012/2013, with CPUE of 3.6 and 4.7 kg/day/boat respectively...

The catch composition of the fishery targeted to juveniles of sardine, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792), so called “bianchetto”, is analyzed. The “bianchetto” is the 90-96% of the total catch. The by-catch is represented by species of little or no commercial value.

The development of macrofouling settled on the VLCC Haven wreck was followed after sinking from 13 years to 18 years in relation to oil removal operations. The main components of the fouling assemblage are algae, serpulids, bryozoans , sponges, madreporians, hydroids, molluscs. The bivalve Neopycnodonte cochlear (Poli, 1795) and the jewel sea anemo...

The Italian Seas include oceanic areas characterized by depths of thousands of metres, as well as complex hydrography and high diversity of pelagic fauna, whose good environmental status (GES) in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) first of all must be described, and then in the future monitored by Italy alone or together with two or mor...

The introduction of mesopelagic swordfish longline in the Ligurian Sea has completely changed the scenario of the by-catch species of this fishery. The characteristics of the new fishing gear has led to a significant reduction in catches of the main species of pelagic elasmobranchs (eg blue shark, Prionace glauca, pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon...

Twenty one specimens of Sudis hyalina (Rafinesque, 1810), (Osteichthyes, Paralepididae) were collected in the westernmost part of the Ligurian Sea as no commercial by-catch of swordfish mesopelagic longline, during June and September 2010 and August 2011. Meristic data and a brief account of reproductive features of the species are provided.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, at present Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, published a first report on the state of fisheries in Italian seas in 1931. Today, eighty years later, I am happy to present this publication, which tries to provide a complete overview of Italian marine fisheries and aquaculture, the latter be...

Two Catch Per Unit Effort indexes for the boat seine fishery targeted to the transparent goby, Aphia minuta (Risso, 1810) and Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) juveniles in the Ligurian Sea were used for a better comparison of yields in different areas. Part time artisanal fisheries deserve attention in terms of conservative and management value.

Fourteen specimens of the bluespotted cornetfish Fistularia commersonii were caught along the Central and Western coast of the Ligurian Sea, between October and November 2010. Meristic data and a brief account about gonadal development and diet composition are provided.

This article presents a review and summary of the data on large pelagic fish, collected over the period 1990–2007, thanks to national and European Community research programmes. Swordfish are present in the Ligurian Sea at all life history stages. Time series of longline fishing catch per unit effort (CPUE) values show a good exploitation status, p...

More than twenty species of medusivorous fishes are present in the Mediterranean Sea: they can be grouped in a coastal and an offshore assemblage. Seven species of the former group resulted as top species in terms of CPUE (catches per fishery season) at the Camogli tuna trap since a long time; given their relevance as biomass, we consider these spe...

Some biological aspects of Parapenaeus longirostris in the Ligurian Sea were studied. The deep-water rose shrimp presents a sexual dimorphism, females reaching sizes larger than males. The females size at first maturity is 25.85 mm. Mature females are present throughout the year with higher percentage during autumn/winter seasons. Catch rates indic...

Il gambero rosa Parapenaeus longirostris (H. Lucas, 1846) è un crostaceo decapode (fam. Penaeidae) con un’ampia distribuzione geografica che include l’intero bacino del Mediterraneo dove rappresenta una frazione importante dello sbarcato commerciale in molte aree (Abello et al., 2002). Per quanto riguarda le acque italiane, questo crostaceo rappres...

Systematic studies (Collette e Aadland, 1996) have assigned the Mediterranean tuna of genus Auxis to the subspecies Auxis rochei rochei, but the diagnostic characters proposed for this taxon fit only in part Mediterranean material. A research, supported by MIUR (Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca), was carried out both on morphological chara...

In the period 2006-2007, more than one hundred Auxis rochei were sampled in the Ligurian Sea in the framework of a morphological and genetic study, supported by MIUR (Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca). This material gave the opportunity to ascertain basic biological parameters of bullet tuna in a Western Mediterranean area, Ligurian Sea, s...

The study by Parona (1909) of a specimen of Lactophrys triqueter (Linnaeus, 1758) collected inside the Genoa harbour is reported, with an original unpublished photo.

The age and growth of two horse mackerel species, Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758) and T. mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868), caught in the Ligurian Sea were studied. Annual increments observed in the otoliths, were used for age estimation. The Von Bertalanffy parameters were: L∞=41; k=0,18; to=-1,56 in T. trachurus and L∞=37; k=0,21; to=-0,19...

Age and growth of two species of Ommastrephidae, Illex coindetii (Verany, 1839) and Todaropsis eblanae (Ball, 1841), were studied in the Ligurian Sea, mainly using statoliths. For I. coindetii a longevity of 1 year for males and 1.5 years for females was estimated while for T. eblanae 1 year longevity for both sexes was estimated.

The tuna trap of camogli allows the monitoring of the migratory routes of small tunas. The catches of the bullet tuna, a. rochei during spring-summer, formed by spawners, mirror those of bluefin to the large tuna traps of southern italy. Work is in progress, to solve many questions which remain opened about this species.

In areas where detailed information on wild young bluefin tuna growth is available, the growth performances of fattened specimens of the same age can be estimated. The present study described growth rates and mercury and cadmium content of 3 -4 years old tuna, caged in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Growth rates in length and weight undergo marked variation i...

Etmopterus spinax data were collected during national trawl surveys GRUND carried out in the Ligurian Sea from 1994 to 2004. In this short note biomass and abundance indexes, mean length (LM), sex length frequency distribution and sex-ratio are described. Abundance index notably decreased, biomass index slightly decreased, while LM increased signif...

Several teams studying the biology and fishery of swordfish in the Italian Seas, have been recently involved in the first Mediterranean attempts of measuring recruitment processes in this species. The interest of this kind of research was suggested by ICCAT to the Italian MiPAF. In ICCAT studies, recruitment indexes of large pelagic fish, such...

Condition index was ascertained in samples of wild tuna obtained in the Central Mediterranean, from the Ligurian Sea and Messina Strait, as well as in fattened specimens of four tuna farms located in South Tyrrhenian Sea. Length/weight relationship of wild tuna were studied per different vital phase (juvenile and adult) and season; those of fattene...

SUMMARY Biological parameters of Atlantic bonito are summarized from the literature taking into account up to date genetic observations: a population unit is apparently distribuited in the Central and Western Mediterranean. There are several spawning areas, but fish movements along the coasts probably maintain the mixing of the population. RÉSUMÉ

Following previous studies concerning very young fin whales stranded in the Mediterranean the present notes analyse adult sizes. Length/frequency distributions of fin whales of the Central Mediterranean were obtained on the basis of recent and old (before 1920) stranding data. Modal adult sizes of male and female are 17 and 18 m in modern data and...