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To enrich spatio-temporal information on the distribution of alien, cryptogenic, and neonative species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community. Through this effort, we collected and harmonized a dataset of 12,649 records. It includes 247 taxa, of which 217 are Animalia, 25 Plantae and 5 Chromista, from 23 countries surrounding the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Chordata was the most abundant taxonomic group, followed by Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida. In terms of species records, Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Saurida lessepsianus, Pterois miles, Upeneus moluccensis, Charybdis (Archias) longicollis, and Caulerpa cylindracea were the most numerous. The temporal distribution of the records ranges from 1973 to 2022, with 44% of the records in 2020–2021. Lethrinus borbonicus is reported for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, while Pomatoschistus quagga, Caulerpa cylindracea, Grateloupia turuturu, and Misophria pallida are first records for the Black Sea; Kapraunia schneideri is recorded for the second time in the Mediterranean and for the first time in Israel; Prionospio depauperata and Pseudonereis anomala are reported for the first time from the Sea of Marmara. Many first country records are also included, namely: Amathia verticillata (Montenegro), Ampithoe valida (Italy), Antithamnion amphigeneum (Greece), Clavelina oblonga (Tunisia and Slovenia), Dendostrea cf. folium (Syria), Epinephelus fasciatus (Tunisia), Ganonema farinosum (Montenegro), Macrorhynchia philippina (Tunisia), Marenzelleria neglecta (Romania), Paratapes textilis (Tunisia), and Botrylloides diegensis (Tunisia)., peer-reviewed

The goal of the ICES Working Group on the Introduction and Transfers of Marine Organisms (WGITMO) is to contribute to the ICES vision and mission by addressing specific science objectives related to the introduction, spread and impacts of non-indigenous marine species (NIS). The expert working group provides information and advice on the impacts of human activities (e.g. pressures caused by invasive species, litter, aquaculture, biofouling) on marine ecosystems including the Arctic. The Terms of Reference include annual national reporting on NIS detections and research, climate change impact on the spread of NIS, the risk and impacts of NIS, vectors of spread of NIS including biofouling, marine debris and aquaculture.This report summarizes the key findings and outcomes from the 2020–2022 term. A joint meeting in (2020) with WGBOSV [Ballast Water and Other Ship Vectors] and WGHABD [Harmful Algal Bloom Dynamics] was held to discuss scientific issues of joint interest including climate change in the Arctic environment, and early detection of and response to species through the use of innovative molecular tools. The discussion on molecular tools was used by the groups to develop the framework for a targeted Molecular Tools workshop in conjunction with at the International Conference for Marine Bioinvasions (ICMB) in May 2023.National activities were presented and discussed from over 20 countries each year. Common themes included, new species introduction and monitoring, recent activities on traditional and innovative methods for detection and surveillance (including molecular tools). Science highlights include the submission of the ICES biofouling viewpoint to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding biofouling guidelines, development and publication of a global scale NIS screening tool, and publication of a global review of NIS trends over 50 years. The Information system on aquatic non-indigenous and cryptogenic species AquaNIS continues as the main repository of new NIS data. The expert group will continue to work collaboratively with PICES, CIESM and other ICES working groups and international organizations focussing on impacts, innovative research tools, and vectors of NIS as it relates to human activities and pressures on marine ecosystems.

The threat posed by invasive non-native species worldwide requires a global approach to identify which introduced species are likely to pose an elevated risk of impact to native species and ecosystems. To inform policy, stakeholders and management decisions on global threats to aquatic ecosystems, 195 assessors representing 120 risk assessment areas across all six inhabited continents screened 819 non-native species from 15 groups of aquatic organisms (freshwater, brackish, marine plants and animals) using the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit. This multi-lingual decision-support tool for the risk screening of aquatic organisms provides assessors with risk scores for a species under current and future climate change conditions that, following a statistically based calibration, permits the accurate classification of species into high-, medium-and low-risk categories under current and predicted climate conditions. The 1730 screenings undertaken encompassed wide geographical areas (regions, political entities, parts thereof, water bodies, river basins, lake drainage basins, and marine regions), which permitted thresholds to be identified for almost all aquatic organismal groups screened as well as for tropical, temperate and continental climate classes, and for tropical and temperate marine ecoregions. In total, 33 species were identified as posing a & lsquo;very high risk & rsquo; of being or becoming invasive, and the scores of several of these species under current climate increased under future climate conditions, primarily due to their wide thermal tolerances. The risk thresholds determined for taxonomic groups and climate zones provide a basis against which area-specific or climate-based calibrated thresholds may be interpreted. In turn, the risk rankings help decision-makers identify which species require an immediate & lsquo;rapid & rsquo; management action (e.g. eradication, control) to avoid or mitigate adverse impacts, which require a full risk assessment, and which are to be restricted or banned with regard to importation and/or sale as ornamental or aquarium/fishery enhancement.(c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

In the framework of a wider systematic survey aimed at studying non-indigenous species in Italian harbours and marinas, the ascophoran bryozoan Celleporaria brunnea was detected for the first time in the western Mediterranean Sea. The species is presumably native to the Pacific coasts of North America and is distributed from British Columbia to the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). In the Mediterranean Sea, C. brunnea was first recorded in 2004 in the inner part of Izmir Bay near Alsancak harbour (Turkey) and later reported along the Lebanese coasts. The species was recently detected in Cascais marina in Portugal and in the Arcachon Basin (France), documenting the first records in the eastern Atlantic. The finding in the Italian harbours of La Spezia (Liguria), Olbia (Sardinia) and Lampedusa (off Sicily) marks its western and northernmost occurrence within the Mediterranean basin. Pathways of introduction into the western Mediterranean Sea are discussed, concluding that hull fouling is the most likely vector. The species may be expected to appear soon in other harbours of the Mediterranean basin. En el marco de un estudio sistemático más amplio destinado a investigar las especies introducidas en los puertos comerciales y deportivos italianos, el briozoo ascophoro Celleporaria brunnea se detectó por primera vez en el Mediterráneo occidental. La especie es probablemente originaria de la costa pacifica de América del Norte y se distribuye desde la Columbia Británica hasta las Islas Galápagos (Ecuador). En el mar Mediterráneo, C. brunnea se registró por primera vez en 2004 en la parte interior de la bahía de Izmir, cerca del puerto de Alsancak (Turquía), y más tarde se reportó a lo largo de las costas libanesas. La especie se registró recientemente en el puerto deportivo de Cascais en Portugal y en la cuenca de Arcachon (Francia), que documenta los primeros registros en el Atlántico oriental. El hallazgo en los puertos italianos de La Spezia (Liguria), Olbia (Cerdeña) y Lampedusa (Sicilia) marca su presencia en la cuenca occidental y septentrional mediterránea. Se discuten las vías de introducción en el mar Mediterráneo occidental, llegando a la conclusión que el vector más probable es el incrustamiento en el casco de los barcos. Puede esperarse que la especie aparezca pronto en otros puertos de la cuenca mediterránea.

Didemnum vexillum Kott (2002) is a high-impact, globally-invasive, colonial tunicate species that is native to Japan (Lambert, 2009; Stefaniak et al., 2012). It is generally a temperate cold-water organism, and its introduced range currently includes New Zealand, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and both the west and east coasts of the United States and Canada (Lambert, 2009; Stefaniak et al., 2012; Tagliapietra et al., 2012; Ordóñez et al., 2015, Vercaemer et al., 2015). Like other invasive tunicates, D. vexillum has the capacity to reproduce rapidly, outcompete native species, deteriorate environmental integrity, and cause significant economic harm (Lambert, 2005; Blum et al., 2007; Daniel and Therriault, 2007; Langyel et al., 2009; Cordell et al., 2013). For these reasons, this document aims to increase awareness of D. vexillum, with a focus on identification, natural history, current global distribution, potential impacts, and prospects for management and control where introductions occur.

The janirid isopod Ianiropsis serricaudis, native to the North-West Pacific region, has recently been identified as a non-indigenous species in several localities in the Northern Hemisphere. Hereby, we present evidence of its occurrence in the Mediterranean Sea, namely in the Lagoon of Venice (Italy). This finding confirms the hypothesis that this species is more widespread in Europe than expected, but has long been underreported on account of the small size of isopods (most of them being in the size range of 3 to 20 mm) and the taxonomic complexity of the genus., Janiridni jednakonošci Ianiropsis serricaudis, koji izvorno potječu iz sjeverozapadne pacifičke regije, nedavno su identificirani kao alohtona vrsta na nekoliko lokaliteta u sjevernoj hemisferi. Ovime iznosimo dokaze o njihovom pojavljivanju u Sredozemnom moru, i to u venecijanskoj laguni (Italija). Ovi nalazi potvrđuju tezu da je ova vrsta rasprostranjenija u Europi nego što se mislilo, ali se o njoj dugo vremena malo izvješćivalo zbog veličine jednakonožaca (većina je veličinom varirala između 3 i 20 mm) te zbog taksonomske složenosti roda.