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Cephalopod International Advisory Council Conference, Cephalopods in the Anthropocene: Multiple Challenges in a Changing Ocean, April 2-8, 2022, Sesimbra, Portugal, In past centuries, the impacts on cephalopods from humankind were negligible. The first documented small-scale exploitation of cephalopods occurred in the Mediterranean and Asia. Between 1950-2019, global cephalopod catches increased by about an order of magnitude, from 0.5 million tones to a peak of 4.85 million tons. The human impact on the oceans also increased substantially in this period. Human-induced climate change, habitat destruction, increased marine traffic, development of coastal infrastructure, pollution and growing fishing effort, may all have had negative impacts on cephalopod populations. But while the responses to anthropogenic impacts have been investigated for many ecosystem components, those for cephalopods are largely unknown. Cephalopods are sensitive to multiple environmental variables such as ocean temperature and dissolved oxygen concentrations, while geographic shifts in distribution in response to temperature changes are already documented. Their sensitivities to other human pressures are beginning to emerge, but most of these still need to be examined. How much habitat has been lost? How does noise affect cephalopods? What are the lethal thresholds for various chemical pollutants, or how may these act to inhibit reproduction? Does light pollution impact cephalopods? With such knowledge gaps, it is difficult to predict how cephalopods will respond to increasing human impacts. Our study aims to provide a review of what is known about anthropogenic impacts on cephalopods and their potential responses to these impacts. This information can be used to identify the research priorities for improving our understanding of human-induced impacts on cephalopods and the development of mitigation measures

The Workshop on the production of annual estimates of abundance of sensitive species (WKABSENS) met to define sensitive species, collate ICES assessments of abundance where these are available, and estimate indices of their abundance per swept-area where not, for the OSPAR area. The analyses identified 140 potentially sensitive species or species complexes, among which 10 are diadromous and three are coastal, 20 have uncertain species ID and nine were identified as sensitive in only one of the sources examined. Among the sensitive species and species complexes, there was sufficient data to provide abundance indices for 50 species, of which 16 had existing stock assessments whereas the workshop derived abundance estimates for the remaining 34 species from survey data. Three statistical modelling approaches (binomial, General Additive Models (GAMs) and VAST) and were explored and the final abundance indices were calculated using GAMs. The species were divided into stocks before estimating abundance indices where these could be identified from the spatial distribution of the species in the survey. The group considered that a similar analysis using data from additional surveys, commercial indices or data from bycatch observers can potentially provide improved abundance estimates for species with variable or low catchability, such as deep-water and pelagic species.

This study concerns the cephalopod species that are part of the diet of the small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula and the longnose spurdog Squalus blainville sampled by commercial trawlers in the Aegean Sea from 2005 to 2012. Based on the examined cephalopod beaks, 15 species were identified belonging in six families of Teuthida, one of Sepiida and two of Octopoda. The diversity of cephalopod prey species was higher for S. canicula (N = 15) than for S. blainville (N = 10). Nektonic cephalopods comprised the majority (>72%) of the preyed species by both sharks, among which about 55% inhabit the demersal zone and 45% the mesopelagic. In the diet of S. canicula, the demersal squid Illex coindetii and the pelagic sepiolid Heteroteuthis dispar were equally represented composing 20% of prey specimens, followed by the small-sized squid Abralia veranyi and the demersal sepiolid Rossia macrosoma. The latter species was substituted in the diet of S. blainville by the demersal medium-sized octopod Scaeurgus unicirrhus, which with the equally represented three other species, composed 50% of the cephalopod prey. Differences observed between S. canicula and S. blainville in the condition of beaks retained in their stomach contents and in the variation of prey species diversity by predator specimen size, may imply differences in their foraging tactics (hunting for prey vs scavenging on the bottom), habitats and stomach evacuation frequency. Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017.

Cephalopod assemblages at the scale of the entire Mediterranean Sea were analysed using information from 2 decades of standardized scientific bottom trawl surveys. Western and eastern assemblages (6 yr of data) were compared using a combined approach of multivariate ordination techniques and non-linear regressions. These methods enabled us to distinguish assemblages and simultaneously analyse the influence of geographic, bathymetric and environmental (sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a concentration) gradients on observed community patterns. Despite few differences in species composition between sub-basins, the relative contribution of species differed. Bathymetry was the primary structural driver for the cephalopod communities of both basins, and contributed to 3 assemblages (shallow water, upper slope and middle slope). Winter temperature influenced community assemblages more strongly in the western than in the eastern basin, in contrast to a small but consistent winter productivity influence on community assemblages in both basins. Thus, the environmental parameters analysed did not cause an immediate change in cephalopod assemblages, but rather an effect lagged by several months. Differences in the relative importance of environmental drivers show that different processes operate in the 2 basins. These results demonstrate similarities and differences between Mediterranean basins regarding important cephalopod functional groups. This information should help integrative ecosystem management approaches currently used in fisheries and conservation management.

8 pages

16 pages, 4 figures, 6 tables, Common names: Faux encornet (France), θράψαλο [thrapsalo] (Greece), Totano (Italy), pota-voadora (Portugal), volador (Spain), broadtail shortfin squid (UK) (Figure 15.1). Synonyms: Loligo brongniartii Blainville, 1823, Loligo coindetii Vérany, 1839, Loligo pillae Vérany, 1851, Loligo sagittata: Vérany (1851), Illex illecebrosus coindeti: Pfeffer (1912)

The Collective Article 'New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records' of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of native and alien species respectively. The new records of native fish species include: the slender sunfish Ranzania laevis and the scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus in Calabria; the Azores rockling Gaidropsarus granti in Calabria and Sicily; the agujon needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis in the Northern Aegean; and the amphibious behaviour of Gouania willdenowi in Southern Turkey. As regards molluscs, the interesting findings include Ischnochiton usticensis in Calabria and Thordisa filix in the bay of Piran (Slovenia). The stomatopod Parasquilla ferussaci was collected from Lesvos island (Greece); the isopod Anilocra frontalis was observed parasitizing the alien Pteragogus trispilus in the Rhodes area. The asteroid Tethyaster subinermis and the butterfly ray Gymnura altavela were reported from several localities in the Greek Ionian and Aegean Seas. The new records of alien species include: the antenna codlet Bregmaceros atlanticus in Saronikos Gulf; three new fish records and two decapods from Egypt; the establishment of the two spot cardinal fish Cheilodipterus novemstriatus and the first record of the marble shrimp Saron marmoratus in semi-dark caves along the Lebanese coastline; the finding of Lagocephalus sceleratus, Sargocentron rubrum, Fistularia commersonii and Stephanolepis diaspros around Lipsi island (Aegean Sea, Greece); the decapod Penaeus hathor in Aegean waters; the decapod Penaeus aztecus and the nudibranch Melibe viridis in the Dodecanese islands; the finding of Pinctada imbricata radiata in the Mar Grande of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy) and the Maliakos Gulf (Greece).

20 pages

The main goal of this study was to examine otolith microstructure and to estimate the age and growth of European hake Merluccius merluccius from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. One hundred and twenty-nine specimens ranging from 102 to 438 mm in total length (LT) were used. Age estimations were based on the study of the otolith microstructure, which was revealed after grinding both frontal sides of otoliths. The enumerations of the daily growth increments (DGI) as well as their width (WDGI) measurements were made on calibrated digital images. The number of DGI in otoliths ranged between 163 and 717. Four phases in the WDGI evolution were distinguished: (1) larval-juvenile pelagic phase, with an increasing trend in WDGI up to the 60th DGI, (2) settlement phase, with a short-term deceleration in WDGI between the 61st and 150th DGI, (3) juvenile demersal phase, characterized by a stabilization of WDGI from 151st to 400th DGI and (4) adult phase, with a decreasing trend in WDGI after the 400th DGI. Age, sex and month of formation were found to affect the WDGI in all phases, with the exception of age at the juvenile demersal phase. The power curve with intercept model described best the relationship of M. merluccius LT with age (TDGI), according to Akaike criteria, revealing differences in growth between females [LT = 65 · 36(TDGI)0 · 40 - 388 · 55] and males [LT = 69 · 32(TDGI)0 · 37 - 352 · 88] for the sizes examined. The mean daily growth rates were 0·61 mm day-1 for females and 0·52 mm day-1 for males, resulting in an LT of 283 and 265 mm at the end of their first year of life. In comparison with previous studies on the Mediterranean Sea, the results of this study showed a greater growth rate, similar to results from tagging experiments and otolith microstructure analyses for M. merluccius in other geographic areas. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

ELNAIS is a dynamic online information platform aiming to collect and report spatial information on Aquatic Alien Species in Greek waters. It covers freshwater, marine and estuarine waters, including not only established aliens but also casual records and cryptogenic species. The ELNAIS system includes: News, List of Greek experts, Literature of findings in Greece, List of species with information on their first introduction date and source as well as photos and distribution maps. Data providers are the scientific community (publications, grey literature, and databases) as well as citizen scientists. ELNAIS provides a useful tool towards national obligations and commitments under both the European and global frameworks in respect to Non Indigenous Species (CBD, WFD, MSFD). © 2015 The Author(s) and 2015 REABIC.

The Collective Article 'New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records' of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of native and alien species respectively. The new records of native fish species include: the slender sunfish Ranzania laevis and the scalloped ribbonfish Zu cristatus in Calabria; the Azores rockling Gaidropsarus granti in Calabria and Sicily; the agujon needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis in the Northern Aegean; and the amphibious behaviour of Gouania willdenowi in Southern Turkey. As regards molluscs, the interesting findings include Ischnochiton usticensis in Calabria and Thordisa filix in the bay of Piran (Slovenia). The stomatopod Parasquilla ferussaci was collected from Lesvos island (Greece); the isopod Anilocra frontalis was observed parasitizing the alien Pteragogus trispilus in the Rhodes area. The asteroid Tethyaster subinermis and the butterfly ray Gymnura altavela were reported from several localities in the Greek Ionian and Aegean Seas.

22 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, Common names: Encornet (France), Καλαμάρι [calamary] (Greece), calamaro mediterraneo (Italy), lula vulgar (Portugal), calamar común (Spain), European squid (UK) (Figure 11.1)

14 pages, 4 tables, This annex lists common names for cephalopods used in Europe and in non-European countries bordering the Mediterranean. These countries and their associated languages and dialects covered are listed in Table A1.1, along with the abbreviations used. Unless otherwise indicated, only the main official language is listed for each country. Abbreviations follow the ISO 639-2 codes as listed on the Library of Congress Standards webpage (http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php). Some languages have different codes for bibliographic and terminology purposes. The material has been compiled from various published general accounts (e.g. Jaeckel, 1958; Roper et al., 1984; Jereb and Roper, 2005, 2010) and national lists, as well as information from colleagues and web sources, as listed in Table A1.2. The common names of cephalopods appear in Table A1.3. Gaps indicate where we (and our listed sources) were unaware of common names for the species–country combinations in question. We can rarely be completely certain that no common name exists in these cases. We have not attempted to include all colloquial names (e.g. “inks” for squid in Scotland). We also excluded some names because their use is generic or ambiguous, such as the Icelandic “kolkrabbi” (octopus or flying squid) and “smockfiskur” (squid or cuttlefish) or the Norwegian “blekksprut” (octopus, cuttlefish, or sepiolid). However, we have included generic names where they were apparently the only name in use (e.g. kalamari for squid species in Israel). In the case of Arabic names, we list the most frequently used common names. Additional regularly used names in the Arabic-speaking countries are listed in Table A1.4

En prensa

According to reports, the following 16 species have extended their distribution to other Mediterranean areas or have made a new appearance in other regions. The first category includes the following organisms: The rare and common Indo-Pacific seaweed Codium arabicum (Lebanese coasts), the acari Thalassarachna affinis (Marmara Sea), and the non-indigenous nudibranch Flabellina rubrolineata, which has been found in several areas of the Aegean Sea. In addition, the rare sea slug Thecacera pennigera (Mar Piccolo of Taranto), the fangtooth moray Enchelycore anatina (National Marine Park of Zakynthos, Ionian Sea), the carangid Seriola fasciata (Gulf of Antalya), Lagocephalus sceleratus (SE Ionian Sea), the reticulated leatherjacket Stephanolepis diaspros (Slovenia, N. Adriatic Sea), the marbled stingray, Dasyatis marmorata (NE Levantine), the starry smooth-hound Mustelus asterias (Iskenderun Bay, NE Mediterranean), the cephalopod Ommastrephes bartramii (Ionian Sea) have also been reported. The Atlantic crab Dyspanopeus sayi has expanded to many Italian areas and the blue crab Callinectes sapidus to a lake in N. Greece and in the S. Adriatic Sea. Finally, Farfantepenaeus aztecus has been found in the Ionian Sea, thus showing its wide expansion in the Mediterranean. The larval stages of Faccionella oxyrhyncha have been found, after many years, in the Aegean Sea and the first report of an existence on intersexual acari Litarachna duboscqi in Split (Adriatic Sea) was reported.

181 pages, Over the past two decades, cephalopod molluscs have attracted increased attention from marine biologists and fishery scientists. Several species are important for European fisheries, as targets of small‐scale coastal fisheries and/or as bycatch in multispecies fisheries for demersal fish. The present report draws on a series of reviews prepared in 2005 for the CEPHSTOCK project (see Section 1). The taxonomy of the main resource species is reviewed (Section 2), and brief descriptions of each species are provided, along with information from studies of population genetics, habitat requirements of paralarvae and adults, and health and ecotoxicology (Section 3). The main fisheries are described, including illustration of gears used in specialized small‐scale fisheries and a discussion of the socio-economic importance of the fisheries. The current status of cephalopod aquaculture is reviewed, highlighting notable advances in commercial culture of octopus and cuttlefish (Section 4). Current fishery data collection and fishery management are described, noting that there is no setting of landings quotas and no routine assessment of stock status. Optns for stock assessment are discussed, drawing on one off assessments made during specific projects and current practice elsewhere in the world. The “live fast, die yong” lifehistory strategies of cephalopods present particular challenges, buparallels can be drawn with shortlived fish (Section 5). Finally, the report looks to the future, reviewing possible effects of climate change on cephalopods. It discusses the future development of aquaculture and fisheries for cephalopods, including prospects for fishery forecasting and fishery management - especially in relation to the small-scale directed fisheries. Various knowledge gaps are identified, and ideas for research to fill these gaps are presented, Much of the material presented in this report was originally compiled for the report of the CEPHSTOCK project (Q5CA‐2002‐00962, 2002 - 2005). We thank all the project participants for their input. GJP acknowledges support from the EU during the editing of this report, through the ANIMATE project (MEXC‐CT‐2006‐042337)

Over the past two decades, cephalopod molluscs have attracted increased attention from marine biologists and fishery scientists. Several species are important for European fisheries, as targets of small‐scale coastal fisheries and/or as bycatch in multispecies fisheries for demersal fish. The present report draws on a series of reviews prepared in 2005 for the CEPHSTOCK project (see Section 1). The taxonomy of the main resource species is reviewed (Section 2), and brief descriptions of each species are provided, along with information from studies of population genetics, habitat requirements of paralarvae and adults, and health and ecotoxicology (Section 3). The main fisheries are described, including illustration of gears used in specialized small‐scale fisheries and a discussion of the socio-economic importance of the fisheries. The current status of cephalopod aquaculture is reviewed, highlighting notable advances in commercial culture of octopus and cuttlefish (Section 4). Current fishery data collection and fishery management are described, noting that there is no setting of landings quotas and no routine assessment of stock status. Optns for stock assessment are discussed, drawing on one off assessments made during specific projects and current practice elsewhere in the world. The “live fast, die yong” lifehistory strategies of cephalopods present particular challenges, buparallels can be drawn with shortlived fish (Section 5). Finally, the report looks to the future, reviewing possible effects of climate change on cephalopods. It discusses the future development of aquaculture and fisheries for cephalopods, including prospects for fishery forecasting and fishery management - especially in relation to the small-scale directed fisheries. Various knowledge gaps are identified, and ideas for research to fill these gaps are presented, Sí

Allometric growth investigations are usually conducted by fitting the allometric model (L) y = axb ⇔ log y = log a + b log x (y, x are morphometric characters and b the allometric exponent), which is quite simple both conceptually and mathematically, and its parameters are easy to estimate by linear regression. However b is not necessarily constant and it may change either continuously or abruptly at specific breakpoints; thus, the simple L model quite often fails to describe allometric growth successfully. In the current context, a better alternative is proposed, based on Kullback-Leibler (K-L) information theory and multi-model inference (MMI). Allometric growth was investigated in eight marine species: the bivalves Pecten jacobaeus and Pinna nobilis, the squids Todarodes sagittatus and Todaropsis eblanae, the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus (females), the ghost shrimp Pestarella tyrrhena (males), and the fishes Trachurus trachurus and Sparus aurata. In each of the eight species, a pair of body parts was measured and the allometric growth of one body part in relation to the other (reference dimension) was studied, by fitting five different candidate models including: the simple allometric model, two models assuming that b changed continuously and two other assuming that b had a breakpoint. For each species, the 'best' model was selected by minimizing the small-sample, bias-corrected form of the Akaike Information Criterion. To quantify the plausibility of each model, given the data and the set of five models, the 'Akaike weight' wi of each model was calculated; based on wi the average model was estimated for each case. MMI is beneficial, more robust, and may reveal more information than the classical approach. As demonstrated with the given examples, estimation of b from the linear model, when it was not supported by the data, revealed some characteristic pitfalls, such as concluding positive allometry when there is actually negative or vice versa, or reporting allometry when the data in reality support isometric growth or vice versa. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.

10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Exploitation patterns of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis in the Mediterranean Sea were studied by investigating the fishing activity in three ports located in the Catalan (Spain), Ligurian (Italy) and Thracian (Greece) Seas. Monthly collection of data on commercial landings, fishing effort and demographic structure of the catches of S. officinalis was undertaken between July 1998 and June 1999. S. officinalis was exploited simultaneously or sequentially by different gears, whose importance changed in each port. Bottom trawling accounted for the majority of the landings at all ports, followed by the medium size trammel nets. Traps played an important role in the cuttlefish landings in the Catalan Sea, while beach seines and small size trammel nets contributed to a minor part of the landings of Kavala and Livorno, respectively. A marked seasonality in the landings of different gears was observed. Trammel net and trap landings comprised mostly adult specimens of large size, while trawl and beach seine catches also contained small individuals., The study was carried out within an E.U. research project focused on the evaluation of the cephalopod fisheries in Mediterranean sea (DG XIV Study n° 97/0054).

Four trawl surveys were carried out on the slope of the North-eastern Ionian Sea, from September 1999 to September 2000, in the framework of the project “Interregional environmental studies in the Ionian Sea (INTERREG II)”. The bottom area investigated was subdivided into four depth strata: 300-500, 500-700, 700-900 and 900-1200 m; and the sampling was based on random-stratified design. Between the cephalopod species collected during exploratory trawling, Loligo forbesi and Ommastrephid squids were those with the greatest commercial potential. A first analysis of the resource is presented here. Stratified CPUE indices showed that Loligo forbesi, Todarodes sagittatus, Todaropsis eblanae and Illex coindetii constituted the major part (>70%) of cephalopod catches between 300 and 700 m during autumn and spring, but was quite lower in summer due to the scarcity of ommastrephids in the catches. L. forbesi was constantly present in the stratum 300-500 m throughout the year, dominated by immature individuals. Among the two short-fined squids, the proportion of I. coindetii was higher in both autumns whereas T. eblanae was more abundant in spring. Their low catches in July are probably related with the high post-spawning mortality of these species. No seasonal trend could be defined in the catches of the pelagic T. sagittatus. The occurrence of fully mature males in the study area, indicates probable spawning locations of the species.