A deep-water crinoid Leptometra celtica bed off the Portuguese south coast

Abstract The existence of a wide bed of the crinoid Leptometra celtica (M’Andrew and Barrett 1857), at approximately 500 m depth, off the Portuguese south coast is inferred from remotely operated vehicle (ROV) transects carried out as part of a research project (IMPACT) aimed at evaluating the impact of bottom trawling on the burrowing crustacean Norway … Read more

National priorities for HELCOM countries

At the upcoming HELCOM Ministerial Meeting on 3 October 2013 in Copenhagen, the region’s Environment Ministers will agree on further actions in order to reach the objectives of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) from 2007. Many of the actions set out in the BSAP in 2007 have still not been implemented – overall … Read more

European Fisheries Subsidies

The fishing industry in the European Union (EU) receives a significant amount of government subsidies, which have promoted the overcapacity of European fishing fleets, resulting in overfishing1, and rendering fisheries in many European countries unprofitable and a poor investment for taxpayers. In 2011, Oceana released a study estimating the total expenditure in fishing sector subsidies … Read more

Mediterranean deep-sea corals in need of protection

Since the entry into force of the SPA/BD Protocol and its Annexes several amendments have been adopted in the framework of the Barcelona Convention bringing up to more than 150 the number of species listed in Annex II and more than 40 the number of species listed in Annex III. Such modifications have corresponded to … Read more

A giant foraminifer that converges to the feeding strategy of carnivorous sponges: Spiculosiphon oceana sp. nov. (Foraminifera, Astrorhizida)

Agglutinated foraminifera make a relatively diverse group of organisms, which is taxonomically defined as a subclass (Textulariia) and comprises four orders. The orders are based upon gross morphology, wall structure, and cement composition (Kaminski 2004). The cement that binds the test together may be organic (as in the Astrorhizida), calcareous and canaliculate (as in the … Read more

Predicting Coral Gardens habitats in the Southwest coast of Portugal

Coral gardens are vulnerable and sensitive habitats protected by the OSPAR Commission. Knowledge on their distribution is essential to provide protection and integration in marine protected areas and also for marine spatial planning actions. In the southwest coast of Portugal deep water coral gardens (50-80m) are characterized by several gorgonians species such as Paramuricea clavata … Read more

Biodiversity of the Invertebrates (minus Arthropods) in Spain

In this paper, the state of the art about the knowledge of the biodiversity of Invertebrates (minus Arthropods) in general and, particularly in Spain, is exposed, giving numerical data of the reported or estimated species of each group of this heterogeneous aggregation of animal Phyla. Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural – Spanish (PDF)

Non-managed species in EU fisheries

  Responsibility to Manage Species Marine commercial species are a natural renewable resource but they are not always managed in the most responsible way1, despite fisheries resources providing an important part of the food supply2 and supporting many people’s livelihoods across the EU3. Inadequate or inexistent management of exploited fishery resources constitutes a real threat … Read more

Preliminary reaction to European Maritime and Fisheries Fund proposal

Europe’s fishing grounds were once amongst the most productive in the world, but thirty years of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) have resulted in serious depletion of fish populations, ecosystem degradation, and damage to species, habitats and sites. Today, 63% of the assessed stocks in the Atlantic are overfished, 82% of the assessed stocks in … Read more