The Coherence of the European Union Marine Natura 2000 Network for Wide-Ranging Charismatic Species: A Mediterranean Case Study

Fortuna, Caterina Maria; Cañadas, Ana; Holcer, Draško; Brecciaroli, Benedetta; Donovan, Gregory P.; Lazar, Bojan; Mο, Giulia; Tunesi, Leonardo; Mackelworth, Peter

doi:10.3389/fmars.2018.00356

Cited by 39 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…It must also be noted that the monitored transect in the Adriatic Sea passes through the middle of the basin and does not extend all the way to the north of the basin, where most of the turtles reside, at least during the summer months (Lazar et al 2002, Fortuna et al 2018. As such, the Adriatic transect passes only through the known southern pelagic habitat which has been identified for juvenile loggerhead turtles, and possibly also for green sea turtles Chelonia mydas (Margaritoulis et al 2003, Lazar et al 2004, Casale et al 2012, Fortuna et al 2018. Also, the Tyrrhenian Sea, especially the southern triangle between Sardinia, Tunisia, and Sicily, showed conspicuously high turtle abundance indices.…”

Section: Sea Turtle Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turtles on the trash track: loggerhead turtles exposed to floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea

Arcangeli¹,

Maffucci²,

Atzori³

et al. 2019

Endang. Species. Res.

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Loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta spend most of their life in large marine areas occupying a variety of habitats where they are exposed to different types of threats. Among these, marine litter poses a risk of entanglement or ingestion. Areas of risk exposure can be identified where the species overlap with litter accumulations, but gathering data on this highly mobile species and marine litter, especially in high sea areas, is challenging. Here we analysed 5 years of sea turtle and marine litter data collected by a network of research bodies along fixed trans-border transects in the Mediterranean Sea. Ferries were used as observation platforms to gather systematic data on a seasonal basis using standard protocols. Loggerhead turtle sightings over time and space were compared in terms of sightings per unit effort, and risk-exposure areas were assessed based on seasonal overlap of species hot spots and high-density plastic areas revealed by kernel analysis. In almost 180 000 km surveyed, 1258 sea turtles were recorded, concentrated mostly in the central Adriatic Sea and Sardinia-Sicilian channels during all seasons, and in the central Tyrrhenian Sea during spring. Plastic comprised the highest fraction of litter items detected. Several areas of higher risk exposure, both permanent and seasonal, were identified, mainly in the Adriatic Sea and during the spring−summer seasons. Records of both species and floating litter were highly variable, underlying the need for continuous long-term monitoring to develop sound conservation and management measures, especially in the identified areas of risk exposure.

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Section: Sea Turtle Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turtles on the trash track: loggerhead turtles exposed to floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea

Arcangeli¹,

Maffucci²,

Atzori³

et al. 2019

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…The northern Adriatic Sea has been recently designated as an Important Marine Mammal Area for bottlenose dolphins (IMMA, 2017) by the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al, 2016; UCN, 2018). Information on bottlenose dolphin abundance and distribution comes from aerial surveys carried out in the summers of 2010 and 2013 in the entire Adriatic basin (Fortuna et al, 2018; a third survey took place in the summer of 2018, but information is presently unpublished). These surveys produced coarse maps of bottlenose dolphin distribution based on predictions of relative density, showing higher density values in the offshore waters of the northern Adriatic (Fortuna et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the north‐western Adriatic Sea: Spatial distribution and effects of trawling

Bonizzoni¹,

Furey

Bearzi

2020

Aquatic Conservation

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Many species and populations of odontocetes have modified their behaviour to take advantage of feeding opportunities provided by fishing activities, with depredation of fishing gear being the most common type of adaptation. The northern Adriatic Sea has been identified as an important marine mammal area because of a regular occurrence of common bottlenose dolphins. Boat surveys were conducted within a 3,000 km2 sector of the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Veneto, Italy, between April and October 2018–2019. Based on 76 days at sea, 10,711 km of navigation, and 81 h 26 min of dolphin tracking, this study contributes novel quantitative information on dolphin spatial distribution, and on their occurrence in the wake of beam trawlers, otter trawlers, and midwater pair trawlers. A combined generalized additive model and generalized estimation equation framework indicated that trawling—along with other physiographic, biological and anthropogenic variables—influenced dolphin distribution. In days of trawling, the chance of encountering dolphins increased by ~4.5 times (95% confidence interval 1.8–11.0) near active beam trawlers, by ~16.0 times (7.1–36.0) near otter trawlers, and by ~28.9 times (12.0–69.6) near midwater pair trawlers. Spatial modelling was used to create maps of predicted distribution, suggesting differences in habitat use between trawling and no‐trawling days. Spatial modelling for all days identified a dolphin distribution hotspot of 832 km2, situated off the Po river delta. Evidence contributed by this study can be used to inform management action within one of the world's areas most heavily impacted by fishing and other human encroachment. Such management action would help enforce the European Union's Habitats Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive, while also informing EU's Maritime Spatial Planning.

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“…This study is among one of the first to provide an evaluation of the distribution of incidental capture of loggerhead turtle in a fishing métier for a Mediterranean sub-basin. It also provides the first maps of risk that are necessary to inform the process of designation and management of new Natura 2000 sites (Fortuna et al, 2018). In the study area, the interactions between loggerhead turtle and fishing gears have usually been ascribed to bottom trawlers (Casale et al, 2004;Lucchetti and Sala, 2010;Lucchetti et al, 2016), midwater pair trawlers (Casale et al, 2004;Fortuna et al, 2010), rapido (beam) trawlers (Lucchetti et al, 2018), and set nets (Lucchetti et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bycatch of Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Italian Adriatic Midwater Pair Trawl Fishery

et al. 2019

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Despite the fact that Mediterranean loggerhead turtles are listed as "Least Concern" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they are among the most threatened marine megafauna worldwide, because of fishery-related incidental captures. The northern central Adriatic Sea is one of the most overfished basins of the Mediterranean Sea and it supports a very valuable marine biodiversity, including sea turtles. This study assesses the spatial and seasonal impact of the northern central Adriatic midwater pair trawl fishery on loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) by examining incidental catches recorded between 2006 and 2018 and environmental variables. The model predicted seasonal variation of loggerhead distribution. According to previous studies, data analysis indicates that most bycatch events of loggerhead turtle occurred in the northern Adriatic Sea. The present data confirm that the northern Adriatic may be an important foraging area for loggerhead turtle. They also highlight the urgent need for a better understanding of the interactions between sea turtles and fisheries to develop and apply suitable, ad hoc management measures in critical habitats.

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The Coherence of the European Union Marine Natura 2000 Network for Wide-Ranging Charismatic Species: A Mediterranean Case Study

Cited by 39 publications

References 38 publications

Turtles on the trash track: loggerhead turtles exposed to floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea

Turtles on the trash track: loggerhead turtles exposed to floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the north‐western Adriatic Sea: Spatial distribution and effects of trawling

Bycatch of Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Italian Adriatic Midwater Pair Trawl Fishery

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