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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species in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, a collective effort by 173 marine scientists was made to provide unpublished records and make them open access to the scientific community.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

This paper presents a review of the unusual occurrences of various marine species found upstream in the Neretva River and its wider delta zone in the last two decades. The occurrences of at least eight different marine species were reported by local fishermen, representing very rare records of these species in the upstream areas of rivers. Although some of these species generally inhabit both saltwater and brackish waters, their occurrences high upstream are probably the consequence of changes in hydrological conditions in Neretva River. Namely, more intense saltwater intrusion into the river observed in the last two decades provides suitable conditions for mass penetration of euryhaline organisms high into the Neretva River. In this biodiversity rich area which hosts a significant number of endemic species, such phenomena can threaten the local freshwater communities., U radu je prikazan pregled neobičnih nalaza morskih vrsta u rijeci Neretvi te širem području njene delte u posljednja dva desetljeća. Pojava najmanje 8 različitih morskih vrsta prijavljena je od strane lokalnih ribara, a radi se o općenito rijetkim nalazima morskih organizama u uzvodnim dijelovima riječnih tokova. Iako neke od vrsta opisanih u radu obitavaju i u slanim i u bočatim vodama, njihova pojava visoko uzvodno vjerojatno je posljedica promjena hidroloških uvjeta u rijeci Neretvi. Naime, intenzivniji prodor morske vode u rijeku u posljednja dva desetljeća omogućava masovno prodiranje eurihalnih organizama visoko u rijeku Neretvu. Na ovom području, bogatom biološkom raznolikošću sa značajnim brojem endemskih vrsta, takve pojave mogu ugroziti zajednice slatkovodnih organizama.

The abundance and diversity of mostly juvenile fishes associated with plastic macro-litter floating by wind and surface currents were observed during last two decades by using visual census as an experimental tool in the nearshore and open waters of the eastern Adriatic Sea, Croatia. Ten fish species belonging to six families were identified associated with floating litter. Most of the specimens observed were juveniles suggesting the importance of floating objects as a nurseries, and thus in the recruitment and redistribution of young fishes. Marine litter represent a matter of growing concern for the Mediterranean Sea due deeply altering the structure of native communities. However, the role of floating marine litter as habitat/shelter or as a dispersal agent for fishes have received relatively little attention. Results from the present study suggest that fishes opportunistically use whatever habitats as shelters are available in pelagic environments where substrates are scarce. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most polluted seas worldwide, especially with regard to plastics. The vast quantities of floating anthropogenic debris, comprised primarily of non-biodegradable plastic polymers, probably will augment natural floating substrates in marine environment and include large effects and interactions with species exposed to massive litter quantities. Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) of traditional fishermen and people who are often on the sea are very valuable source of information regarding the fishes associated with floating marine litter.

In this presentation author presents a historical overview of the development of marine ichthyology in Croatia from the 16th century and the work/correspodence of Jakov Sorkočević Lovrov until the present day (a 440 – years journey). The presentation also gives data concerning the most important marine ichthyologists (Sorkočević, Bučić, Kolombatović, Brusina, Kosić, Lorini, Šoljan, Gamulin, among others) whose work marked certain periods of history in a particular way. Some of their works (such as „Fishes of the Adriatic“) that contributed to the development of marine ichthyology in Croatia and wider area are discussed as well.

Morska bioraznolikost Sredozemnog mora danas je suočena sa značajnim strukturnim promjenama flore i faune. Slične promjene zabilježene su i u Jadranskom moru. Tijekom posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća različiti čimbenici kao što su klimatske promjene, antropogene aktivnosti i lesepsijske migracije promijenili su sastav Sredozemne/Jadranske ihtiofaune. Opsežna istraživanja provedena u posljednjim desetljećima omogućila su nam da prepoznamo vrste koje prethodno nisu zabilježene ili prijavljene s ovog područja. U Sredozemnom moru je dosada zabilježno 188 egzotičnih vrsta riba od kojih su veliki broj lesespsijski migranti indo-pacifičkog podrijetla. Od 15 zabilježenih lesepsijskih vrsta riba u Jadranu, Lagocephalus sceleratus, Fistularia commersonii i Siganus luridus bile su jedine vrste zabilježena više puta i s geografski raštrkanim zapisima sugerirajući uspješnu biološku invaziju. Vatrenjača Pterois miles pokazuje brzo geografsko širenje u Sredozemnom moru od 2012.godine i to uglavnom u istočnom dijelu Sredozemlja. Nedavni zapisi o nalazima u Jonskom i Jadranskom moru ukazuju na činjenicu da bi to trebao biti znak upozorenja te postoji hitna potreba za poduzimanjem i promicanjem mjera kontrole. Utjecaj uspješnih kolonizatora na izvorne zajednice u Jadranskom moru još nije u potpunosti poznat no u istočnom dijelu Sredozemlja je vrlo velik. Međutim, brzina bioloških invazija sugerira da bi potencijalni negativni učinci mogli postati vrlo relevantni u bliskoj budućnosti.

U radu je prikazan znnastveni doprinos ihtiologa dr.sc. Armina Pallaora, djelatnika Instituta za oceanografiju i ribarstvo.

Acta Adriatica je primarna znanstvena publikacija s međunarodnom recenzijom, duge tradicije, koju Institut za oceanografiju i ribarstvo u Splitu neprekidno izdaje od 1932. godine. U samom početku je časopis bio interno glasilo institucije, a danas je to ugledni znanstveni časopis u kojem svoje radove objavljuju znanstvenici i stručnjaci iz gotovo čitavog svijeta. Do kraja 2022. godine objavljeno su ukupno 62 sveska s ukupno 1048 znanstvena rada u čijem je pisanju sudjelovalo oko 1000 autora. Uključivanje časopisa u svjetske znanstvene tijekove zahtijevalo je i međunarodnu vidljivost i prepoznatljvost, stoga je uredništvo ulagalo i dalje ulaže velike napore da se časopis uključi u gotovo svjetske baze podataka, kako objavljeni radovi postali što dostupniji širokoj znanstvenoj zajednici. Usprkos svim promjenama i budućim težnjama, glavni cilj izdavanja Acta Adriatica ostaje nepromijenjen: objavljivati kvalitetne znanstvene i pregledne radove na multidisciplinarnoj razini koji će pomoći još boljem razumijevanju Jadranskog i Sredozemnog mora te na taj način postati još bogatija riznica znanja o njima. Acta Adriatica je časopis u otvorenom pristupu. Sadržaj časopisa u cijelosti je besplatno dostupan.

In the framework of Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) European Union Member States (MS) monitor the environmental status of marine waters. In this context, non- indigenous species (NIS) represent one of the descriptors (D2) for determining and achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) and each member country is obliged to establish a monitoring programme to collect data to assess progress towards achieving GES. With the aim of early detection of NIS species, number of their new introductions is set as a primary criterion for this descriptor. Here we report the inventory of NIS for fish species for which the initial assessment in the Croatian Adriatic, under the MSFD monitoring programme, begun in 2016. To increase and supplement the scale of monitoring, methods utilized to record fish NIS include: analyses of experimental and commercial fisheries catches, in situ visual census samplings and citizen science observations. In the last 6 years (2016– 2021), 4 non-indigenous species have been recorded: Siganus luridus, Abudefduf sp., Bregmaceros nectabanus and Pterois miles. With exception of Siganus luridus, all other species have been recorded for the first time in Croatian waters. Southern and middle part of the Adriatic are locations of all the introductions, while natural spread via Suez Canal corridor and shipping are suspected to be the most likely potential pathways of introduction.

The scorpaenid fish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828), originating from the Indo-Pacific, is considered one of the worst invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. Once established, its populations can have damaging effects on native communities, resulting in biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and economic effects on the fishing industry and marine-based activities as evidenced in the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g. Cyprus and Greece). Their biological traits and ecological habits: early maturity, high growth rate and fecundity, long-range larval dispersion, venomous spines, generalist diet, and habitat flexibility, combined with lack of native predators facilitate their spreading and establishment success. In the Adriatic Sea the lionfish was recorded for the first time in summer of 2019 along the Italian and Albanian coasts (in the Strait of Otranto) and in summer 2020 ca. 90 km northwest from the Otranto Strait in Apulia. Here we report a single spotting of P. miles in August 2021, on the Island Vis near Komiža, more than 250 km northwest from the previous (2020) sighting in the Adriatic Sea. The fish was approx. 13 cm long, spotted at 15 m depth, on a rocky bottom covered with algae. Contrary to prediction models, this finding shows that the species could spread even further to the north than expected. Despite the efforts of Croatian scientists to warn about the possible danger, no proper actions of relevant national authorities have been initiated to date to tackle the issue. Monitoring and population controlling actions are urgently needed as a rapid response following early detection of invasive species is considered the best approach in potential damage mitigation. Although the number of individuals found at particular locations in the Adriatic so far was small (1 or 2 fish), there is an urgent need to educate divers, fishers and the wide public about the matter and to develop legal protocol for eradication. Moreover, a Croatian network for collecting and exchanging information about the fish spotting targeted for divers and fishers should be established. Due to climate change it could be expected that the sea temperature of the Adriatic will rise in the future making it more suitable for the establishment of the lionfish and formation of dense populations.

Marine Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are animals and plants introduced accidently or deliberately into the European seas, originating from other seas of the globe. About 800 marine non-indigenous species (NIS)currently occur in the European Union national marine waters, several of which have negative impacts on marine ecosystem services and biodiversity. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 2 (D2), EU Member States (MSs) need to consider NIS in their marine management strategies. The Descriptor D2 includes one primary criterion (D2C1: new NIS introductions), and two secondary criteria (D2C2 and D2C3). The D2 implementation is characterized by a number of issues and uncertainties which can be applicable to the Descriptor level (e.g. geographical unit of assessment, assessment period, phytoplanktonic, parasitic, oligohaline NIS, etc.), to the primary criterion D2C1 level (e.g. threshold values, cryptogenic, questionable species, etc), and to the secondary criteria D2C2 and D2C3. The current report tackles these issues and provides practical recommendations aiming at a smoother and more efficient implementation of D2 and its criteria at EU level. They constitute a solid operational output which can result in more comparable D2 assessments among MSsand MSFD regions/subregions. When it comes to the policy-side, the current report calls for a number of different categories of NIS to be reported in D2 assessments, pointing the need for the species to be labelled/categorised appropriately in the MSFD reporting by the MSs. These suggestions are proposed to be communicated to the MSFD Working Group of Good Environmental Status (GES) and subsequently to the Marine Strategy Coordination Group (MSCG) of MSFD. Moreover, they can serve as an input for revising the Art. 8 Guidelines.