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The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 3,000 records (with more than 4,000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 21 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The principal species included in the archive are the devil ray (1,868 individuals), the basking shark (935 individuals), the blue shark (622 individuals), and the great white shark (342 individuals). In the last decades, other species such as the thresher shark (187 individuals), the shortfin mako (180 individuals), and the spiny butterfly ray (138) were reported with increasing frequency. This was possibly due to increased public awareness on the conservation status of sharks, and the consequent development of new monitoring programs. MEDLEM does not have homogeneous reporting coverage throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas and it should be considered as a database of observed species presence. Scientific monitoring efforts in the south-eastern Mediterranean and Black seas are generally lower than in the northern sectors and the absence of some species in our database does not imply their actual absence in these regions. However, the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected species, the overall area coverage, and which species are involved as bycatch by different fishing gears. © 2020 Mediterranean Marine Science.

Consumers’ interest in quality aspects of food products has significantly increased. The objective of this study is to examine the influence that Maltese consumers’ lifestyles have on their attitudes towards quality features of fruit and vegetables. To achieve our objective we used the Food-Related Lifestyle approach and carried out a telephone survey during February 2010 in Malta. Consumer profiles were identified through segmentation analysis, taking into account five as-pects: (i) subjectivity of quality; (ii) consumer difference; (iii) intangible dimensions; (iv) in-formation environment; (v) and price.

The purpose of this research was to determine the performances of lettuce (Lactuca sativ L.) using low cost soilless gardens in peri-urban areas of the city of Teresina (Piaui-Brazil). In the suburbs of main cities, the introduction of gardening activities may be a sustainable tool to reduce poverty and improve food security. However, due to low access to fertile land horticultural production is constrained. The introduction of low cost hydroponic gardens may be a sustainable way to launch horticultural production in roof, terraces and courtyard. The proposed soilless system are constituted by sloped lines of plastic bottles connected together into a closed pipeline. Four experiments were conducted between June and September 2007, applying the following factorially combined treatments: 1st experiment - garden orientation (west-east vs. east-west), two nutrient solutions (namely Maceiò and La Molina) and three cultivars (“4 Estacoes”, “Elisa” and “Banchu”); 2nd experiment - two nutrient solutions (Maceiò and La Molina) and four cultivars (“Grand Rapids”, “Solaris”, “Veronica” and “Isabella”); 3rd experiment - two nutrient solutions (Maceiò and La Molina) and two cultivars (“Veronica” and “Red Comet”); 4th experiment - the garden slope (17, 22, 27%) and two cultivars (“Veronica” and “Red Comet”). The experimental design consisted of entirely randomized subdivided plots. Plant growth was measured at different phenological stages. Moreover, three times per week, N-Tester measurements were performed on young unfolded leaves. At harvest main biometric measurement were conducted. Period from sowing to harvest was particularly short (44 days), and yield reached 3,7 kg m-2.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are often promoted as tools for biodiversity conservation as well as for fisheries management. Despite increasing evidence of their usefulness, questions remain regarding the optimal design of MPAs, in particular concerning their function as fisheries management tools, for which empirical studies are still lacking. Using 28 data sets from seven MPAs in Southern Europe, we developed a meta-analytical approach to investigate the effects of protection on adjacent fisheries and asking how these effects are influenced by MPA size and age. Southern European MPAs showed clear effects on the surrounding fisheries, on the ‘catch per unit effort’ (CPUE) of target species, but especially on the CPUE of the marketable catch. These effects depended on the time of protection and on the size of the no-take area. CPUE of both target species and the marketable catch increased gradually by 2–4% per year over a long time period (at least 30 years). The influence of the size of the no-take area appeared to be more complex. The catch rates of the entire fishery in and around the MPA were higher when the no-take areas were smaller. Conversely, catch rates of selected fisheries that were expected to benefit most from protection increased when the no-take area was larger. Our results emphasize the importance of MPA size on its export functions and suggest that an adequate, often extended, time frame be used for the management and the evaluation of effectiveness of MPAs., Sí

The focus of this study is the population spatial structure of the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier, 1797), in the GSAs 16 and 15 of Strait of Sicily (central Mediterranean). Specifically, the depth distribution of the species and the geographic position of nursery and spawning grounds were investigated. Abundance indices by life-phases (recruits and spawners) were obtained from two series of scientific trawl surveys carried out in the Strait of Sicily in the period 1994-2007 within the framework of international and Italian national programmes of experimental trawl surveys. Distribution maps of density indices were generated for each life stage and year by Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) deterministic interpolation. Specifically, 14 distribution maps of recruit density indices were produced for the Autumn season (main recruitment period), whereas nine density maps of mature individuals were obtained for the spring/early summer season (peak of reproduction). Moreover 4 years of data were available to produce distribution maps of recruit density indices in the African platform of GSAs 13 and 14. Nursery and spawning areas were identified, by means of GIS techniques, applying criteria based on the persistent presence of high values of recruits and adult females respectively, throughout the period of study. A stable spawning ground was identified in the north-west sector of GSA16. Several nurseries were located along the south coast of Sicily and north of Malta. An important stable nursery was found in the south-east area of GSA 13.

Marine reserves are widely used throughout the world to prevent overfishing and conserve biodiversity, but uncertainties remain about their optimal design. The effects of marine reserves are heterogeneous. Despite theoretical findings, empirical studies have previously found no effect of size on the effectiveness of marine reserves in protecting commercial fish stocks. Using 58 datasets from 19 European marine reserves, we show that reserve size and age do matter: Increasing the size of the no-take zone increases the density of commercial fishes within the reserve compared with outside; whereas the size of the buffer zone has the opposite effect. Moreover, positive effects of marine reserve on commercial fish species and species richness are linked to the time elapsed since the establishment of the protection scheme. The reserve size-dependency of the response to protection has strong implications for the spatial management of coastal areas because marine reserves are used for spatial zoning. This work has been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Community, specific RTD programme "Specific Support to Policies", SSP-2003-006539 "European Marine Protected Areas as Tools for Fisheries Management and Conservation (EMPAFISH)".

The occurrence of living deep-water corals, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, from stations 21-42 km off the southern and south-western coast of Malta is reported. Fragments of living colonies of both species, as well as some large pieces of Lophelia frameworks were recovered from depths of 390-617 m together with the solitary coral Desmophyllum dianthus (= cristagalli). The accompanying biota included the barnacle Pachylasma giganteum, the gastropod Coralliophila richardi, the bivalves Asperarca nodulosa and Spondylus gussonii, and the polychaete Eunice norvegicus, all of which are frequently associated with deep-water corals. The occurrence of the Lophelia-Madrepora- Desmophyllum triad, the large pieces of coral frameworks consisting predominantly of live, healthy polyps, and the associated biota, suggest that coral patches may be present in at least some of the investigated localities, rather than just fragmented remains or isolated colonies., peer-reviewed

Fisheries and scientific investigations of the recently discovered deep-water coral province south of Malta sampled living specimens of two deep-water Coralliophilinae intimately associated with Lophelia-Madrepora coral banks. The species are "Coralliophila" richardi (Fischer P., 1882) and Babelomurex sentix (Bayer, 1971). A third coralliophilinid "Coralliophila" squamosa (Bivona Ant. in Bivoria And., 1838: deep-water morphotype) has been also observed alive close to deep-water corals at the Nameless-Urania Bank.

Nutrient inputs resulting from fish farming activities located in the vicinity of seagrass meadows can potentially alter the structure and affect the functioning of these ecosystems, however, few studies have addressed this problem. The impact of waste generated by an offshore fish farm in Malta (Central Mediterranean) on the structure of a meadow of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and on the associated decapod, echinoderm and mollusc assemblages was studied by collecting samples from stations located at distances of 10 m, 30 m, 50 m, 90 m, 170 m and 330 m away from the farm. Meadow morphology and leaf epiphyte load changed with distance from the fish cages, as did the species richness and abundance of macroinvertebrates associated with the seagrass. However, while shoot morphometric measures increased significantly in value over the whole length of the transect (330 m), macroinvertebrate species richness and abundance peaked at an intermediate distance (40–160 m) from the cages. These results suggest that while waste generated from fish farms can severely alter the structure of a seagrass meadow over a large area, nutrient enrichment could increase productivity in certain parts of the same meadow, leading to a localized increase in species richness and abundance of associated macroinvertebrates. These changes result in different 'ecological zones' round the source of nutrient input., peer-reviewed

The Mediterranean Large Elasmobranchs Monitoring (MEDLEM) database contains more than 3,000 records (with more than 4,000 individuals) of large elasmobranch species from 21 different countries around the Mediterranean and Black seas, observed from 1666 to 2017. The principal species included in the archive are the devil ray (1,868 individuals), the basking shark (935 individuals), the blue shark (622 individuals), and the great white shark (342 individuals). In the last decades, other species such as the thresher shark (187 individuals), the shortfin mako (180 individuals), and the spiny butterfly ray (138) were reported with increasing frequency. This was possibly due to increased public awareness on the conservation status of sharks, and the consequent development of new monitoring programs. MEDLEM does not have homogeneous reporting coverage throughout the Mediterranean and Black seas and it should be considered as a database of observed species presence. Scientific monitoring efforts in the south-eastern Mediterranean and Black seas are generally lower than in the northern sectors and the absence of some species in our database does not imply their actual absence in these regions. However,the available data allowed us to analyse the frequency and spatial distribution of records, the size frequencies for a few selected species, the overall area coverage, and which species are involved as bycatch by different fishing gears., Sí

Background: DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI) constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity. Methodology/Principal Findings: A dataset of 1278 DNA barcodes, representing 218 marine fish species, was used to test the utility of DNA barcodes to assign species from query sequences. We tested query sequences against 1) a reference library of ranked DNA barcodes from the neighbouring North East Atlantic, and 2) the public databases BOLD and GenBank. In the first case, a reference library comprising DNA barcodes with reliability grades for 146 fish species was used as diagnostic dataset to screen 486 query DNA sequences from fish specimens collected in the central basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Of all query sequences suitable for comparisons 98% were unambiguously confirmed through complete match with reference DNA barcodes. In the second case, it was possible to assign species to 83% (BOLD-IDS) and 72% (GenBank) of the sequences from the Mediterranean. Relatively high intraspecific genetic distances were found in 7 species (2.2%-18.74%), most of them of high commercial relevance, suggesting possible cryptic species. Conclusion/Significance: We emphasize the discriminatory power of COI barcodes and their application to cases requiring species level resolution starting from query sequences. Results highlight the value of public reference libraries of reliability grade-annotated DNA barcodes, to identify species from different geographical origins. The ability to assign species with high precision from DNA samples of disparate quality and origin has major utility in several fields, from fisheries and conservation programs to control of fish products authenticity., peer-reviewed

The success of MPAs in conserving fishing resources and protecting marine biodiversity relies strongly on how well they meet their planned (or implicit) management goals. From a review of empirical studies aiming at assessing the ecological effects of Mediterranean and Macaronesian MPAs, we conclude that establishing an MPA is successful for (i) increasing the abundance/biomass, (ii) increasing the proportion of larger/older individuals, and (iii) enhancing the fecundity of commercially harvested populations; also, MPAs demonstrated to be effective for (iv) augmenting local fishery yields through biomass exportation from the protected area, and (v) inducing shifts in fish assemblage structure by increasing the dominance of large predator species. However, the attraction for tourism and diving due to ecological benefits of protection can cause damages likely to reverse some of the MPA effects. Other expected effects are more subject to uncertainty, and hence need more research, such as (vi) causing density-dependent changes in life history traits and (vii) protecting the recruitment of commercially important species, (viii) protecting marine biodiversity (including genetic diversity), (ix) causing ecosystem-wide effects such as trophic cascades, and (x) increasing community and ecosystem stability, thus promoting resilience and faster recovery from disturbance. Meta-analysis of data arising from these case studies are used to establish the overall effect of MPAs, and its relationship to MPA features, such as size of no-take area or time since protection. Based on the review and the meta-analyses, specific recommendations are provided for MPA management, regarding the establishment of goals and objectives, site selection, MPA design and zoning, planning, and monitoring. Finally, a series of recommendations for MPA research are offered to drive future research in MPA issues in the Mediterranean and Macaronesia., peer-reviewed