Updating knowledge about the distribution ranges and population parameters of fish species is essential for effective management of fish resources and for understanding how Mediterranean fauna are adapting to ongoing warming trends. The Morocco dentex (Dentex maroccanus) is a sparid species typically found in the southern Mediterranean Sea; however, there is currently a dearth of records from the northern sector of the basin....

The razor clam ( Ensis minor ) is an infaunal filter-feeding bivalve of considerable economic importance in the Mediterranean, historically playing a key role in the livelihood of Italian coastal communities in the northern Adriatic and central Tyrrhenian Seas. This study aimed to investigate the fundamental biological traits of E. minor across areas where data were either outdated or previously unavailable, to inform appropri...

Marine Recreational Fishing (MRF) is an important socio-economic sector worldwide, yet data scarcity on MRF effort poses challenges in understanding and managing its effects and impacts on fish stocks. This study investigates the characteristics and impacts of the bottom longline employed by MRF in Italian Seas. Data was collected through social media platforms, providing a contemporary approach to monitoring recreational fish...

The starry ray, Raja asterias (Delaroche 1809), is a demersal Mediterranean skate often caught as bycatch in bottom trawls and set nets. Due to high fishing pressure in the Adriatic Sea, key life history traits were investigated to support effective conservation and fishery management. Specimens were collected from 2019 to 2023 through both fishery-dependent and independent sampling in the mid-western Adriatic. Age was estimat...

Mediterranean large-body sharks face a high risk of extinction, with population declines that could potentially be worse than the global trend. However, in the basin, there is little quantitative information on the long-term pattern of their populations. Here, we relied on local ecological knowledge (LEK) by tapping into the collective memory of professional fishers to tracing back the spatiotemporal changes in catch and abund...

Mortality resulting from interactions with fishing gears represent an important threat to sensitive species globally. In this study, we address this issue by defining five species groups of marine megafauna (marine mammals, seabirds, demersal and pelagic elasmobranchs, and sea turtles), and conducting a productivity-susceptibility analysis (PSA) within the context of data-limited fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. A...

The striped venus clam fishery in Italy is carried out by means of hydraulic dredges and it is one of the most important socio- economic activities in the Italian fisheries sector. Dredging has traditionally been considered among fishing activities with the greatest impact at the ecosystem level. Here, therefore, we investigated the disturbance level exerted by dredging on the studied area. Also, damage and mortality rates exe...

Pots are traditional fishing gear type largely employed in Mediterranean Small Scale Fisheries (SSFs). Their often higher species selectivity and catch quality compared to other gear types such as passive set nets or trawls are appealing characteristics for reducing the impact on benthic communities and diversifying fishing effort in the region. Despite this, in some SSFs, pots are still rarely used as prevalent gear due to lo...

The catch composition of bottom trawls is commonly refined and improved through changes in codend design. Measures like reducing the number of meshes in codend circumference or turning diamond netting by 90 degrees are well known to improve the size selectivity of fish species with rounded cross-sectional shape. Based on this we speculated whether the same measures, if applied in other parts of a bottom trawl, would provide si...

Stock overexploitation, bycatch, discards and gear impacts on the environment are outstanding issues for Mediterranean fisheries. The adoption of alternative fishing gears is an appealing solution to ensure a more sustainable exploitation of resources. We discuss the pros and cons of pots as alternative gears by reviewing their main designs, spatial distribution and target species in the Mediterranean basin. We assessed the te...

In the Mediterranean Sea, where bottom trawling for demersal species is the most important fishery in terms of landings, around 75% of the assessed fish stocks are overfished. Its status as one of the world’s most heavily exploited seas and the one subject to the highest trawling pressure has become a global concern. An extensive review of bottom trawl selectivity studies was performed to assess the sustainability of this fish...

The effect of shifting from a diamond mesh codend (T0) to a 90° turned mesh codend (T90) on the size selectivity of seven commercially important species in the Mediterranean bottom trawl fishery was evaluated. During sea trials conducted in the north-western Adriatic, two experimental codends made of 54 mm nominal mesh size netting that differed only in mesh configuration were alternately mounted on the same trawl. Overall, th...

Small‐scale driftnets (SSDs) have been historically used in the Mediterranean without major environmental concern. The introduction of large‐scale driftnets caused unwanted catches of protected species. Specific regulations were therefore issued in European waters, culminating in a proposed moratorium on SSDs. This study aimed to characterise the SSD fishery targeting anchovy (menaide), evaluating its environmental sustainabil...