The rule of thumb in marine trophodynamics indicates that the bigger an organism, the higher its trophic level ( TROPH ). This generalization leads to the assumption that fishes increase their TROPH with growth. However, a recent review showed that for many species, TROPH does not increase with body size, suggesting that size‐independent feeding is not rare in marine fishes. Here, we assessed some morphological traits of marin...

The CEN (2005) methodology for fish monitoring of mesotrophic to eutrophic Mediterranean lakes was evaluated. The contribution of gillnet (benthic and pelagic) and electrofishing catches on species richness was examined. Additionally, the contribution of benthic gillnet sampling effort on species richness and precision of catch‐per‐unit‐effort (CPUE) estimates, considering both number of specimens (ΝPUE) and biomass (BPUE), wa...

In this study we updated the previous compilation of the feeding habits and trophic levels (TROPHs) of Mediterranean fish. In total, 172 publications were retrieved and analysed. Collected data refer to 146 species, with a TROPH value ranging from 2.00 to 4.54. The analysis of TROPH distribution verified the previously proposed classification of species into functional trophic groups. Overall, information on diet composition e...

The paper presents an effort to build a biologically realistic, age structured Bayesian model for the stock assessment of data poor fisheries where only aggregated catch data is available. The model is built using prior information from other areas and ecologically or taxonomically similar species. The modeling approach is tested with data poor fisheries on the Cyclades islands in Greek archipelago. The two most important spec...

In this review we collected data on the age at maturity (tm) and maximum reported age (tmax) for 235 stocks of Mediterranean marine fishes, belonging to 82 species, 37 families, 12 orders and 2 classes (Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii). Among Actinopterygii (mean tm ± SD = 2.20 ± 1.43 y, n = 215), tm ranged from 0.3 y, for the common goby Pomatoschistus microps, to 12 y, for dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus, while among...

As part of its policy, Mediterranean Marine Science started from 2014 to publish a new series of collective article with fisheries-related data from the Mediterranean Sea. In this first collective article we present length frequencies and weight-length relationships for the northern brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus in the eastern Mediterranean, length-weight relationships for 10 fish species in the North Aegean Sea, the fe...

The present study examines the feeding habits of anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and round sardinella (Sardinella aurita). The results are combined with previously published information on feeding-related morphological features (i.e. mouth area, intestine length and tail area) in order to explore morphological affinities between species and the effect of ecomorphology on their co-existence. These...

We address the cost of access to knowledge and its ethical implications in ‘true’, ‘pseudo’ and ‘hybrid’ OA journals.

The impact of fisheries within a Natura 2000 area in western Greece was assessed over a 12‐month period in 2007. The estimated total biomass removed annually by 307 fishing boats averaged 3503.5 t. Purse seiners, beach seiners and trawlers took 70% of the total landings. Purse seiners, contributing 3% of the total fishing fleet, were responsible for 33% of total biomass removed. Beach and purse seiners primarily caught small p...

Parallel fishing trials with 0.30 mm diameter monofilament gill nets and longlines using small hooks were carried out in the Algarve (southern Portugal) over a one-year period, 1997-1998, with the objective of comparing species composition, catch rates, discards and size ranges. Four hook sizes of 'Mustad' brand, round bent, flatted sea hooks (numbers 15, 13, 12 and 11) and four mesh sizes of 25, 30, 35 and 40 mm (nominal bar...

Minimum landing size (MLS) is one technical measure used to manage fisheries with the aim of allowing enough juveniles to survive and spawn. In this study the practical and ecological efficiency of the MLSs set by European Union (Regulation 1967/2006) and Greek legislation for 13 fish species caught with five gears in the Ionian Sea was tested using length measurements from 22 382 individuals. The percentage of individuals wit...

The diet of 76 species from Greek waters (north Aegean Sea) was examined for the determination of trophic level by species, season and sex. Trophic level estimates were derived from TrophLab software based on collected stomach content data. Such estimates are important for the implementation of marine management indicators, such as the marine trophic index. The mean ± s . e . difference between minimum and maximum trophic leve...

In 18 marine fish species from the eastern Mediterranean, vertical mouth opening increased linearly with total length ( L T ) for 10 species and log‐linearly for eight species. Horizontal mouth opening was linearly related to L T for 12 species and log‐linearly for six species, whereas mouth area was a log‐linear function of L T for all fish species examined. Mouth shape varied greatly covering the whole spectrum from a full c...