The Mediterranean Sea is both a global biodiversity hotspot and the world’s most heavily invaded marine region, where non-indigenous species arrivals are accelerating under intensifying shipping, Suez Canal traffic, aquaculture, and climate warming. Yet, despite rapidly growing research activity, a comprehensive synthesis of the scientific literature on Mediterranean marine invasions has been lacking. This study provides the f...

Fisheries management in the Mediterranean Sea faces persistent challenges due to the prevalence of data-poor and data-limited stocks, small-scale multi-species fisheries, and limited long-term monitoring programs. Effective assessment methodologies are critical to ensuring sustainable exploitation, yet traditional data-rich stock assessment models remain infeasible for many Mediterranean fisheries. This review provides a compr...

The impact of coastal aquaculture on water quality should be assessed for operational monitoring and environmental management. Ammonium (NH 4 + ) is among the most vital nutrients originated from floating cage farming. Up till now, field sampling and laboratory analysis are routinely applied, a costly and time-consuming process. Satellite technology and machine learning techniques have been proved a useful tool for the operati...

The large-eye dentex (Dentex macrophthalmus) is a relatively small sparid fish with increasing potential as a supplementary fishery resource in the Mediterranean Sea, particularly as traditional stocks face overexploitation. Despite its widespread distribution, biological data on this species, especially from Greek waters, remain scarce. This study presents the first comprehensive biological assessment of D. macrophthalmus in...

This study investigates the effects of species, geographical origin, and processing on the proximate composition of frog leg meat, with a focus on developing predictive models for processing status. Data were systematically compiled from 18 published studies, yielding 32 entries across 10 edible frog species and multiple processing methods. Proximate composition parameters (moisture, protein, fat, ash) were compared between pr...

Based on the experience gained worldwide from potential solutions to the fouling problem of fisheries and aquaculture infrastructure, we attempted to design, construct and test the antifouling efficiency of a new hybrid filament created from non-laminated copper wire braided with synthetic fibers made of Dyneema. The design involved the creation of a hybrid twine substituting a percentage of the synthetic fibers with 0.1–0.15...

The Eastern Aegean Sea hosts a diverse assemblage of elasmobranchs, many of which are vulnerable or endangered. This study presents a fishery-independent assessment of species composition, catch characteristics, and spatial patterns in bottom trawl fisheries between Lesvos Island and Ayvalik. A total of 48 surveys were conducted between September 2022 and October 2024, identifying nine elasmobranch species, with Scyliorhinus c...

This study investigates the age, growth, and mortality of the common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) in the Central Aegean Sea, providing critical insights into its population dynamics and sustainability. A total of 589 specimens were analyzed, identifying nine age cohorts with mean total lengths ranging from 13.18 cm to 32.94 cm. Growth parameters, estimated using the von Bertalanffy growth model, yielded an asymptotic length (...

The European hake (Merluccius merluccius) is a highly sought after, overfished commercial species with a high ecological value. Otolith morphometric characteristics were employed from 150 individuals captured from the Central Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) using a commercial trawler. Age reading was independently performed by three readers. A multivariate methodology identified the morphometric factors that significantly a...

The Atlantic pearl oyster, Pinctada radiata (Leach, 1814), is an Indo-Pacific bivalve of the subtidal zone that has colonized habitats all over the Mediterranean. There is a lack of detailed information on the reproductive activity of P. radiata in Hellenic waters, especially following the recent amendment of national legislation aiming to regulate the fishery and prevent illegal fishing and trafficking as a substitute for ind...

The first record of the tropical green seaweed Halimeda incrassata (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is presented, based on several thalli found in the stomach of a silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), collected off Plimmiri beach, Rhodes, Greece. Species identification was based on morphological and molecular identification using the tufA gene as a molecular marker. The finding comes 1...

Trammel net and boat-seine experimental fishing samplings were carried out seasonally, over a rocky-sandy and a Posidonia oceanica habitat respectively, in the coastal waters of Rhodes, south-eastern Aegean Sea, Greece, between 2019 and 2020. Fish catch composition, abundance and biomass were investigated as a contribution to the qualitative and quantitative monitoring of the fish assemblages in the artisanal fishery in this G...

A fishery-independent survey with a commercial bottom otter trawl was conducted in the Pagasitikos Gulf, a semi-enclosed, trawl-restricted gulf in Greece. The study aimed to ecologically assess the fishery communities that are experiencing a decline in fishery landings. Twelve hauls of 30 min duration each were conducted in the eastern, western, and central parts of the gulf at depths between 62 and 97 m. In total, 57 species...

The estimation of the carrying capacity (CC) is a fundamental process in integrated environmental management, policy making, and decision making. Aquaculture carrying capacity has been studied since the 1960s to allow estimation of the production limits of aquaculture projects and, hence, their maximum economic performance within sustainable limits for the local environment. One major drawback of these approaches is that they...

The black sea urchin (Arbacia lixula, Linnaeus, 1758) is a non-edible marine echinoderm of high ecological importance with the potential to affect marine ecological communities. A. lixula were sampled monthly for one year from the supralittoral fringe at two locations in the Pagasitikos Gulf, in the north-western Aegean Sea. Morphometric characteristics exhibited significant spatiotemporal variation. The population in closer p...