Search

Fifteen years after the first capture of a specimen of Charybdis japonica in the Adriatic Sea, we report the collection of two more specimens near the port of Ravenna. This swimming crab, native from the North Western Pacific, has already proved its invasive capacity in New Zealand coastal waters. Its possible establishment in the northern Adriatic lagoons may represent a treat for the local Manila clam fishery and aquaculture activities., Petnaest godina nakon prvog ulova primjerka Charybdis japonica u Jadranskom moru, izvješta- vamo o prikupljanju još dva primjerka u blizini luke Ravenna. Ovaj rak porijeklom iz sjeverozapadnog Pacifika, već je dokazao svoju invazivnu sposobnost u obalnim vodama Novog Zelanda. Njegovo moguće nastanjenje u lagunama sjevernog Jadrana moglo bi predstavljati bojazan za lokalne aktivnosti u ribarstvu i akvakulturi školjke Ruditapes philippinarum.

Six Terms of Reference (ToRs; Annex 2) were addressed during the meeting through plenary and subgroups. The 2019 report is structured in the same order as the ToRs. Contributions to ToRs were requested in advance of the meeting and all data submissions were requested via a formal WGBYC/ICES data call (Annex 7). The data call requested data on fishing effort, monitoring effort and protected species (marine mammals, seabirds, reptiles and fish) bycatch incidents in 2017. Of the 24 countries contacted, 20 responded to the data call. Many countries continue to submit data late (one-third) and the quality of the data submissions is variable. The data call referred to bycatch of fish, as per the list provided in Table 1D of the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/1251 adopting a Multiannual Union Programme (EU-MAP); however, WGBYC this year reviewed this list to create a priority fish bycatch list since many of the species on D1 are commercially caught and other scientific bodies, e.g. ICES expert groups, carry out assessments for these. Member States (MS) reports on the implementation of Regulation 812/2004 during 2017 were reviewed. Most MS continue to monitor protected species bycatch using fisheries observers conducting sampling under the Data Collection Framework (DCF); only a few countries have a dedicated bycatch observer programme. With the upcoming repeal of Regulation 812/2004 in 2019, WGBYC will in future receive its data from monitoring under EU-MAP. Monitoring of smaller vessels (

Elasmobranchs constitute a target or bycatch of a wide variety of fishing techniques. Such anthropogenic pressure has brought to a drastic reduction of local populations across the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, limited - data collection and species misidentif ication, among others, have led to a scarcity of historical data on species occurrence and abundance trends in several taxa. Such information is particularly valuable to study migration dynamics and behavior variations, as well as to reconstruct historical trends. To fill this data gap, the use of local ecological knowledge from professional fishermen can be considered as a valuable source of semi - quantitative information on several aspects of species ecology, abundance and behavioral aspects. Through a questionnaire survey, fishermen operating with diverse fishing gears such as bottom and pelagic trawlers, set nets and longlines were interviewed by trained researchers with the aid of photo - identification materials. A total of 211 interviews were collected across nine Mediterranean FAO - GSA sub - areas (9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 28). Results covered a wide range of elasmobranch species with regard to coastal, pelagic and deep - sea environment. Interviewers indicated species that were abundant in the past, declined recently and showed size variation compared to past catches. Moreover, fishermen reported aggregation sightings/events, seasonal movements and species - specific fishing area. The present study constitutes a baseline regarding abundance and distribution of elasmobranch species in historical times and may represent a valuable tool for data deficient taxa. It also gives new insights on elasmobranchs behavioral and ecological aspects and highlights priority species and suitable geographic areas for conservation and behavioral studies.

In this deliverable we investigated the drivers of investment in fisheries and how those can be activated to stimulate investment in alternative technologies to protect the benthos. To capture a wider range of factors than quantitative factors only we modified the work plan and included interviews with fishing industries in all regions. As a result we identified a wide range of reasons why fishers have (or have not) invested in alternative gears. As expected, the profitability of alternative technology is an important factor to invest but we also found many others. Those drivers were classified as economic, technical, regulatory, social, governance and environmental drivers. As advice to managers we also identified where and how interventions could improve uptake of technology.

Adaptation to local conditions is a fundamental process in evolution; however, mechanisms maintaining local adaptation despite high gene flow are still poorly understood. Marine ecosystems provide a wide array of diverse habitats that frequently promote ecological adaptation even in species characterized by strong levels of gene flow. As one example, populations of the marine fish Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are highly connected due to immense dispersal capabilities but nevertheless show local adaptation in several key traits. By combining population genomic analyses based on 12K single-nucleotide polymorphisms with larval dispersal patterns inferred using a biophysical ocean model, we show that Atlantic cod individuals residing in sheltered estuarine habitats of Scandinavian fjords mainly belong to offshore oceanic populations with considerable connectivity between these diverse ecosystems. Nevertheless, we also find evidence for discrete fjord populations that are genetically differentiated from offshore populations, indicative of local adaptation, the degree of which appears to be influenced by connectivity. Analyses of the genomic architecture reveal a significant overrepresentation of a large ~5 Mb chromosomal rearrangement in fjord cod, previously proposed to comprise genes critical for the survival at low salinities. This suggests that despite considerable connectivity with offshore populations, local adaptation to fjord environments may be enabled by suppression of recombination in the rearranged region. Our study provides new insights into the potential of local adaptation in high gene flow species within fine geographical scales and highlights the importance of genome architecture in analyses of ecological adaptation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge about global chondrichthyes bycatch, including how the combination of biological characteristics of these species and the impact of different fishing methods reflect their vulnerability to bycatch. Specifically, it summarizes the present status of elasmobranchs and chimaeras bycatch worldwide. Following this, it illustrates the main ecological consequences behind such incidental captures. Hence, it provides a description of how chondrichthyes bycatch occurs across broad fishing gear categories. Moreover, it outlines potential mitigation options available to reduce bycatch. As such, the main technical measures tested and applied in different fishing practices are listed. In addition, an overview about which are the current management measures implemented at international level to ensure long-term conservation of cartilaginous fish is reported. Then, two case studies summarize how chondrichthyes bycatch occurred in some of the most exploited fishing areas. Finally, the chapter ends with relevant considerations about potential for new research needed to monitor and reduce chondrichthyes bycatch.

In the present study the genetic variability of European sardine from Adriatic and Ionian seas was investigated in order to detect the occurrence of genetic structure within and between these basins. In several samples the analysis of genetic variability at eight microsatellite loci showed a number of homozygote individuals higher than expected at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The inter-population differentiation level estimated by AMOVA, qST and rRST and Bayesian descriptors detected no signs of population differentiation between the samples analysed. These results are consistent with previous studies based on allozymes and several mitochondrial DNA markers and add further evidence contradicting the early identification, based on morphological and reproductive data, of two sub-populations in the Adriatic Sea. En el presente trabajo se ha investigado la variabilidad genética de la sardina europea en el mar Adriático y Jónico con el objetivo de detectar la posible existencia de estructura genética entre y dentro de ambas cuencas. El análisis de la variabilidad genética en ocho loci microsatélites detectó una desviación respecto al equilibrio HW por un exceso de homocigotos en algunas de las muestras estudiadas. La estima del nivel de diferenciación interpoblacional, realizada mediante AMOVA, qST and rRST, y descriptores Bayesianos, resultó no significativa para las muestras analizadas. Estos datos concuerdan con los obtenidos en estudios previos basados en alozimas y marcadores mitocondriales y contradicen la anterior identificación de dos subpoblaciones en el mar Adriático en base a datos morfológicos y reproductivos.

The mobile demersal gears currently applied in the fishery sectors across Europe are known to have a large impact both directly and indirectly on the benthic habitats and communities. There is increasing concern about these impacts and the aim is to reduce these impacts on the wider ecosystem without compromising the ability of the fishery to provide food or maintain a socio-economically viable fishery. This is reflected in the main policy framework, i.e. the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which encourages an ecosystem based approach, in which benefits from living aquatic resources are ensured ‘while the direct and indirect impacts of fishing operations on marine ecosystems are low and not detrimental to the future functioning, diversity and integrity of those ecosystems’. To that end the CFP proposes a new general framework to manage EU fisheries aimed at achieving sustainability objectives across all three pillars of sustainability, i.e. ecological, economic and social. The CFP also stresses that to ensure good governance, appropriate involvement of stakeholders is needed to implement measures. Therefore in these regional evaluations of the management measures considered in the BENTHIS project we use stakeholder preferences on ecological, economic and social criteria to assess the performance of these management measures against those criteria. For this we applied multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), a set of formal approaches which seek to take explicit account of multiple criteria in helping decision-makers explore decisions. Different stakeholder perspectives were ascertained by distinguishing between three stakeholder groups: Fishers, Civil society (NGOs) and Government. This evaluation showed that the different stakeholder groups value the criteria differently. Overall fishers value the social criteria highest and the ecological criteria lowest whereas civil society and the government value the ecological criteria highest and the economic lowest but with each with different relative weightings. This was reflected in the preferred management measures in each regional assessment where different stakeholder groups assessed the performance of a management measure differently. In the Baltic sea fishers and government all stakeholders agreed that the Nephrops short sweeps performed least while Nephrops creels/trawls as applied in the Danish or Swedish fishery came out as best with minor differences between the stakeholder groups. In the Bay of Biscay there was a clear preference for a change from trawling to Nephrops pots by all stakeholders not affiliated to the fishery whereas the fishers themselves were somewhat undecided. In the Mediterranean the stakeholders from civil society and government preferred the change from trawling to targeted trapping in specific areas/seasons whereas the fishers preferred the change from traditional to novel otterboards. Finally in the North sea civil society had a strong preference for the application of a Habitat Credit System while fishers and government preferred the pulse trawl replacing tickler chain beam trawl. This exercise confirms that an explicit consideration of stakeholder perspectives is important when considering the implementation of management measures and that a balanced representation of the relevant stakeholder groups is an important requirement for participatory processes to inform decision-making.