“New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea” (October 2021)

Abstract

“New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea” (October 2021)

Looking for a Simple Assessment Tool for a Complex Task: Short-Term Evaluation of Changes in Fisheries Management Measures in the Pomo/Jabuka Pits Area (Central Adriatic Sea)

“…As previously stated, the catch rates of some commercial species, such as P. longirostris, could be influenced by possible changes in environmental conditions, which may thus mask the effects of the management measures. According to Marini et al [59], the Pomo/Jabuka Pits area is characterized by a peculiar oceanographic regime which can strongly influence the status of the ecosystem [60]. Therefore, also thanks to the availability of relevant time series of oceanographic data specific to the study area [130,131], future studies which aim to investigate and possibly quantify the combined effect of the FRA and changes in environmental conditions, as well as to detect possible long-term effects, should be carried out.…”

“…The complex topography of the area, combined with the oceanographic regimes of the Adriatic Sea, makes it a very peculiar environment in which the water exchange does not occur every year [59]. These conditions can influence the nutrient cycle, with consequences on local biodiversity (e.g., the discovery of rare species [60,61]) and on the trophic status of benthic communities [62]. This area is the main nursery for European Hake, Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus, 1758), in this basin [63][64][65][66].…”

New and interesting records of marine fishes (Actinopterygii) from the Maltese Islands (central Mediterranean)

“…Two individuals of G. granti (Fig. 4) were recorded from the presently reported ROV surveys, one in 2015 and one in 2016, which antedate the record by Tsagarakis et al (2021). 3) far exceeds almost all previous Mediterranean depth reports, and the 871 m depth is substantially greater than the deepest known record for the species, from the Galician Bank (Atlantic), where this species occurred at 823 m (Bañón et al 2002).…”

“…Remarks. This species has recently been recorded from Malta by Tsagarakis et al (2021), based on a single individual caught off west Gozo (coordinates: 36.00°N, 014.10°E) at a depth of 290 m. Bello (2018) gives another record as "W of Malta (ANDALORO et al 2011)" but this online article (Anonymous, not dated) does not include details of the record apart from a point on a map. From this map, it appears that the fish originated from waters some 75 km west of the island of Gozo.…”

“…Knowledge of the indigenous marine fish fauna of the Maltese Islands has improved in recent years, especially following new investigations of previously poorly known habitats such as cobble habitats, marine caves, and deep-sea habitats (e.g., Kovačić et al 2013;Castriota and Deidun 2014;Evans et al 2016;Kovačić and Schembri 2019;Tsagarakis et al 2021). Surveys made in 2015 and 2016 during the LIFE BaĦAR for N2K project (https://lifebahar.org.mt) have contributed new records of fishes as well as provided information on some interesting species that have been recently recorded but whose ecology in the central Mediterranean is not well known.…”