New publication
New publication on the assessment of consumer attitudes towards marine non-indigenous fish species: A case study from Greece.
Non-indigenous fish species continue to spread into the Mediterranean Sea, changing species assemblages and reshaping marine ecosystems. The promotion of edible alien species through a market-based approach has been proposed as a measure to limit their spread and the negative effects they may have on local habitats, and also provide economic revenues to fishers.
According to the results of the study, several consumers are aware of the adverse effects of marine alien species and are willing to purchase these species when they are available in restaurants, while about 8 out of 10 would consume alien fish species knowing that it helps protect native species and the marine environment.
Multivariate models revealed that the most important criteria for the consumers were (a) the freshness of the products, (b) whether the fish is poisonous, and (c) the hygienic conditions of the fish market.
The results reflect the positive attitude of Greek consumers towards non-indigenous fish species and underline the importance of further promoting a market that could improve the sustainability of fisheries and environmental protection.
In order to read the publication, click here.
New iSea research on sharks and rays in Greece
Our recent research on elasmobranch fishing and trade in Greece has just been published. Through a systematic study for a year and on a monthly basis, we visited auction markets, landing points, and fishing markets in Northern Greece, for recording the landings of sharks and rays at the species level and for quantifying their illegal trade and mislabelling.
Although fishing is the most prevalent threat for sharks and rays in the Mediterranean, its impact on their populations is still hard to be quantified as in almost all Mediterranean countries these species are recorded in aggregate landing categories resulting in no species-level quantitative data. At the same time, it is already known that all over the world, but also in Greece, illegal trade and mislabelling on elasmobranch products exist, with protected species reaching our plates.
In this context, trying to understand more about the pressures that these species face in Greece, we present estimated landed volume of sharks and rays at the species level. At the same time, through this work, we present quantitative seasonal data on illegal trade and mislabelling. Finally, based on the findings, we propose changes to the applied legislation of recording and marketing elasmobranchs in an effort to increase traceability, empower research and facilitate effective protection and management of protected and endangered species.
It is important to emphasize that this is one of the few relevant studies available in the Mediterranean and the first in Greece and we hope that it will significantly help both the scientific community but also the administrators to take more effective measures. We would like to warmly thank our partners for their valuable help. This research funded by OceanCare and the Shark Foundation/Hai-Stiftung.
You can find the research article here.
New scientific publication on the knowledge and attitude of Greeks in relation to marine plastic pollution and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive
In the context of #zeroplastic, an awareness raising campaign against pollution from plastics and microplastics in the Greek seas, the knowledge and attitude of the Greek public towards marine plastic pollution and the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive were investigated by interpreting the results of a questionnaire.
The issue of marine plastic pollution has been highlighted by scientists and in Greece, consultation and resolution about the implementation of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive have already been carried out. However, the results of our study showed that participants were not informed about the issue of marine plastic pollution nor the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive. Nevertheless, they expressed positive attitudes, including their willingness to pay and act in order to reduce their plastic waste.
Taking into account the findings of the study, it is recommended that more actions should support the publicity of the Directive so that the Greek public would be able to actively participating in the decision-making process and its effective implementation. In addition, the topic of microplastics is suggested to be integrated into the context of formal education.
Find the full publication and results here.
Reforms in the management of alien species
A new study with the participation of iSea, led by Cypriot and Greek scientists, proposes major changes in the management of marine alien species in the Mediterranean Sea
Non-indigenous species (also known as alien or non-native) are species introduced outside their natural past or present range, which might survive and subsequently reproduce. There are more than 800 non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean, and the number has been exponentially growing in the recent decades, particularly through the Suez Canal. They are characterized as a major threat to ecosystems due to their potential impacts on the environment, economy, and even human health. However, there are non-indigenous species that can offer benefits e.g. replacing lost ecological functions, enhancing ecological redundancy and providing fishery balance. Stopping the spread of such species is virtually impossible especially with the tools we have today.
A new study published in the ‘Journal of Environmental Management’ – led by the Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab, in collaboration with scientists from Greek organizations such as iSea, the University of Patras, HCMR, the University of Plymouth (UK) and the University of Queensland (Australia), is proposing institutional changes in the approach and management of marine alien species in the Mediterranean. In order to address such issues, the study proposes cost-benefit analysis, as well as a series of institutional reforms that will guide whether each species should be managed in a sustainable or unsustainable way.
For example, where there are negative impacts, the study proposes legislation to actively promote commercial over-exploitation and the creation of specific licences for recreational fishers targeting non-indigenous species. It also recommends investment in the market and valorisation of NIS products, the development of novel products, and fishery-related tourism. The study also highlights the importance of investing in natural-based solutions such as the protection of native predators, the enhancement of marine protected areas (MPAs), and allowing SCUBA divers to remove invasive species from MPAs.
Periklis Kleitou, lead author of the study and researcher at MER Lab, said: “The Mediterranean is heavily overexploited. It is unwise to perceive all the effects of non-indigenous species in the region as negative. Some species have been established in the basin for decades playing a major role in ecosystem and fisheries balance. In some parts of the eastern Mediterranean, they might account for over half the fishery catches in some parts of the eastern Mediterranean. Others are harmful and we do not actively promote their overexploitation. The solutions we propose would create an ecosystem-based framework to promote fishery sustainability in the region”.
Co-author Ioannis Giovos, from the environmental organization iSea and researcher at MER Lab, added: “We cannot talk about fighting alien species without, at the same time, protecting their potential native predators, many of which are endangered in the Mediterranean due to overfishing. With the right measures and institutional changes, alien species can be a driving force for the sustainable management of stocks and a breath can be given to the Mediterranean ecosystems, but this requires courageous moves at national, Mediterranean and European level.”
Find the full study here: Kleitou et al: Fishery Reforms for the Management of Non-Indigenous Species – can be found at the Journal of Environmental Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111690
The presence of Tripletail in Greece and Cyprus
In the context of our project Is it Alien to you? Share it!!! in addition to recordings of alien species, we further collect observations of rare Mediterranean species, sent to us by citizen scientists.
Find bellow the new scientific paper of the project that focuses on the presence of Atlantic Tripletail Lobotes surinamensis in the eastern Mediterranean basin and specifically in the seas of Greece and Cyprus. The paper emphasizes the importance of Citizen Science in researching and monitoring the distribution of marine species in a changing environment, like the Mediterranean Sea.
Find the publication here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41208-020-00244-6
Another scientific publication in the context of the project Is it Alien to You?…Share it!!!
Many times in the context of Is it Alien to You?…Share it!!! citizen scientists send us their observations of species that are not alien but rare. Yesterday we published a paper that contributes 25 new records of five data-limited species in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. More specifically the species are:
Alectis alexandrina
Ranzania laevis
Dalatias licha
Lophotus lacepede
Sudis hyalina
This study reveals that the contribution of citizen-science accounts for 58.5% of the total number of published records of the species during the last decade in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This signifies the importance of citizen-science both for scientific and public awareness. We warmly thank all the citizen scientists for sending us their reports!
Find the publication here.
New alien species with Atlantic origins recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean
New alien species, native to the western Atlantic, captured by a professional fisherman in Isthmia, Argosaronic Gulf. A friend of the fisher contacted the Is it Alien to you…. Share it!!! team. The individual identified as Chaetodipterus faber (Atlantic spadefish) and the specimen sent to iSea for further study. Today the scientific publication published, which confirms the first record of the species in the Mediterranean and thus in the Greek waters.
Given the absence Atlantic spadefish records across the Atlantic countries near the Strait of Gibraltar, but also in the Western and Central Mediterranean, we suspect the specimen was released or escaped from an aquarium, as the species is popular in the ornamental fish industry. In fact, we have recently received additional recordings of the species from nearby areas, indicating that more individuals of the species may have been released in the area.
The last years, there is an increase in the number of reported alien species that are suspected to be introduced by an aquarium release. Such a trend must recall the attention of national authorities and relevant stakeholders for advancing their efforts for the implementation of the Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 “on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species” that applies to all EU countries.
Find the full publication here.