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Data on depth distribution, length at maturity, length-weight relationships and size structure of Rondeletiola minor and Sepietta oweniana in the Strait of Sicily are given.

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 (DPS) fisheries in the south-central Mediterranean Sea. We analyzed data collected from January 2009 to December 2013. Multivariate data analysis and generalized additive models (GAMs) were used to assess the spatio-temporal composition of the discard (which represented 36% of the total catch) and factors influencing its distribution. Multiple analysis of variance highlighted the significant effect of depth factor on discard assemblage. Moreover, in general, bony fish were the most discarded organisms (23.5%), while cartilaginous fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates represented approximately 13% of the total catch. GAMs showed that the fraction of discard in the catch presented significant variation regarding the years, depth and fishing ground. Although the negative trend in discard suggested that the DPS fisheries are moving towards a more sustainable exploitation, the discard fraction in some areas/assemblages remains high. Our results showed that most of the discard was due to species that had a minimum legal size (Hake, DPS, Trachurus spp.), and consequently would be subjected to the European discard ban. In order to improve the fisheries management, specific measures aimed to minimize the unwanted catches of undersized species need to be implemented.

The analysis of 973 benthic samples from the trawlable bottoms of the Strait of Sicily allowed to identify a thanatocoenosis characterized by the fossil gastropods Neptunea contraria and Buccinum undatum in a restricted area of the incoherent bottoms of the canyon on the western shoulder of the Adventure Bank. This finding extends southernmost the known distribution area of these fossil species. Benthic community living on thanatocoenosis showed a higher biodiversity than those found in areas without dead shells.

The state of exploitation of Common pandora, P. erythrinus (L., 1758) in the Strait of Sicily (GSA 16) was assessed by age cohort and Yield and Biomass per recruit analyses. Data from commercial trawling and artisanal fisheries were used. The results showed that the resource was in "growth overfishing" and a reduction of 30% of the current fishing mortality by trawl is suggested to reach F0.1 target reference point.

Deep water pink shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris, Lucas 1846), Hake (Merluccius merluccius, Linnaeus, 1758) and Giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea, Risso 1827) are the main target species of the bottom trawlers operating in the Strait of Sicily. This paper aims to summarize the results of the studies performed by the IAMC - CNR to evaluate the potential yield and the current exploitation of these main species by using and comparing different assessment approaches. Data used for the analyses derived from both indirect (commercial fisheries) and direct (trawl surveys) monitoring International and National Programs carried out within the frameworks of European Union Common Fisheries Policy. The assessments of P. longirostris suggest that the fishery is being exploited the above a level which is believed to be sustainable in the long term. To move the fishing to a more sustainable pattern (F0.1), a decrease of the current fishing mortality ranging between 30% and 45% is recommended. For M. merluccius, a long living species sensitive to high fishing pressure, a reduction of current fishing mortality from 45% and 70% is suggested. In the case of A. foliacea, the reduction of fishing mortality to reach a more sustainable exploitation ranges from 30% and 65% of the current F.

This study is on the implementation of a semi-automatic Labelling System (LS) of the Mediterranean Sea seafood harvest to address the increased need for seafood authentication and inherent difficulties of commonly used indirect techniques for estimating fisheries yield and fishing effort. Sensitive data required for anti-counterfeit policies, such as date and catch area, can be acquired and recorded on the label by user-friendly automated software that excludes any possible manipulation by the crew. Based on results obtained from the installation of the LS on bottom commercial trawlers, the system certified the origin of the seafood products and simultaneously provided, indirectly, geospatial fisheries yield and fishing effort data of the main exploited species.

In alternativa all’attuale ricorso ai solfiti, il progetto esamina l’effetto combinato delle tecnologie di confezionamento in atmosfera modificata e del congelamento sulla shelf-life del gambero rosa, del gambero rosso e dello scampo. Così, direttamente a bordo di un motopesca d’altura, diversi campioni di tutte e tre le specie sono stati confezionati secondo differenti protocolli che prevedevano l’utilizzazione di miscele di gas a diversa composizione di azoto (N2) e di anidride carbonica (CO2). Successivamente, tutti i campioni sono stati congelati a -20°C e sottoposti a controllo chimico, fisico e organolettico per un periodo complessivo di una anno. I risultati delle analisi chimiche (TVB and TBARS) e le valutazioni sensoriali (colore, odore, sapore) hanno mostrato che le tecnologie di confezionamento in atmosfera modificata, combinate con le basse temperature di stoccaggio, possono essere raccomandate per estendere la shelf-life dei crostacei senza la necessità di fare ricorso agli additivi di natura chimica.

The efforts made so far to make sustainable the fishing activities in the Mediterranean Sea, did not give the expected results. The way suggested by biologists, aiming at keeping down the fishing effort, clashed with the positions taken up by the fishermen based on the illusion to be able to establish a lasting wealth thanks to the open-ended growth in catches. In this context, a not yet followed way to reduce the exploitation of the resources without drawing on the gains of those who live on fish could be to shift the fishermen's attention towards methods based on the maximization of the catch's value. It could be done by importing manufacturing and storing processes on board that, on one hand, would increase the quality and safety of the product, on the other hand, would decrease the fishing effort. This new approach to the management of the fishing resources was at the base of the above mentioned research project, the purpose of which was to cut the use of the chemical preservatives widely used to prevent the blackspotting (melanosis) of valued crustaceans. As an alternative to the current recourse to sulphites, the project examined the joint effect of the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and of the freezing on shelf-life of the Parapenaeus longirostris (deep-water rose shrimp), dell'Aristaomorpha foliacea (giant red shrimp) and Nephrops norvegicus (norway lobster). Therefore, directly on board a deep-sea motor trawler, a congruous number of samples of all of the three species were packed according to different protocols foreeing: (1) the vacuum-packaging, (2) the packaging by a gas mixture constituted by 50% by nitrogen (N2) and 50 % by carbon dioxide (CO2), (3) the packaging only by nitrogen (al 100%), (4) the packaging by sodium bisulphite (following the procedures adopted by the trade fishery) and lastly (5) the preparing of a control sample without any packaging treatment but freezing it according to the same protocol of the previous 4 samples. Later, all the samples were frozen at -20°C and submitted to chemical, microbiological, physical and organoleptic tests for a total period of 1 year. The results of the total volatile base (TVB), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), microbiological analysis and the sensorial estimations (colour, smell, taste, texture) showed that the modified atmosphere packaging technologies in, joint to the low storage temperatures, can be recommended to prolong the crustaceans' shelf-life without the necessity to use chemical additives.

This study is on the implementation of a semi-automatic labelling system (LS) of the Mediterranean Sea seafood harvest to address the increased need for seafood authentication and inherent difficulties of commonly used indirect techniques for estimating fisheries yield and fishing effort. Sensitive datarequired for anti-counterfeit policies, such as date and catch area, can be acquired and recorded on the label by user-friendly automated software that excludes any possible manipulation by the crew. Based on results obtained from the installation of the LS on bottom commercial trawlers, the system certified the origin of the seafood products and simultaneously provided, indirectly, geospatial fisheries yield and fishing effort data of the main exploited species.