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| MEDITS | |
|---|---|
| Name | MEDITS |
| Type | Marine scientific survey |
| Established | 1994 |
| Area | Mediterranean Sea |
| Coordinator | International Council for the Exploration of the Sea |
| Participants | European Commission, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, national institutes |
| Methods | Bottom trawl, standardized sampling, stratified random design |
MEDITS
MEDITS is a long-term, standardized scientific bottom trawl survey program focused on demersal resources of the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent waters. It provides systematic time-series data used by institutions such as the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization (through the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean), and regional marine research institutes in countries like Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia. The project supports stock assessments, biodiversity monitoring, and ecosystem-based management in the context of regional frameworks including the Barcelona Convention and the Common Fisheries Policy.
MEDITS operates as a coordinated monitoring network that applies harmonized protocols across multiple national scientific institutions including the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER), the National Research Council (Italy), the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, and the Institute of Marine Sciences (CSIC). Results feed into assessments by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and inform advice issued by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries. The survey integrates with other initiatives such as the Mediterranean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem program and complements fisheries-independent surveys like those run by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's scientific committees and basin-scale projects under the European Marine Observation and Data Network.
MEDITS originated in the early 1990s when concerns about declining demersal stocks prompted coordination among stakeholders including the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, and national laboratories. Early adopters included teams from Spain, Italy, France, and Greece, later expanding to participants from Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia, and Morocco. The program evolved alongside international instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and regional agreements like the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area, informing capacity-building projects funded by the European Neighbourhood Instrument and the Mediterranean Trust Fund.
MEDITS aims to estimate abundance, biomass, size structure, and distribution of demersal species to support stock assessment and biodiversity indicators for bodies including the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and the Barcelona Convention's ecosystem assessments. Methodology centers on a stratified random sampling design using standardized bottom trawl gears specified in manuals produced by collaborating institutions such as IFREMER and national marine laboratories. Protocols align with guidance from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and incorporate quality assurance steps used in programs like the Ocean Biogeographic Information System. Surveys collect biological data following procedures comparable to those used in the North Sea Beam Trawl Surveys and integrate taxonomic standards maintained by repositories like the World Register of Marine Species.
Surveys cover continental shelves and slopes across the western, central, and eastern Mediterranean basins, including the western Alboran Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ionian Sea, and the Levantine Sea, with stratification by depth and substrate. Stratified random transects sample areas adjacent to national waters of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal (for Azores linkage), Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia, and Egypt. Design choices mirror spatial frameworks used in regional projects like the MedPAN network of marine protected areas and data contribute to spatial planning tools employed by the European Environment Agency and the United Nations Environment Programme.
Field operations deploy standardized otter trawls and experimental gears to collect demersal fishes, cephalopods, crustaceans, and benthic invertebrates. Biological sampling records individual length-frequency, age structures derived from otoliths, sex, maturity stage, and stomach contents; such datasets are comparable to those compiled by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Working Groups on demersal species. Taxonomic identifications rely on guides produced by institutions like the Mediterranean Science Commission and museums such as the Natural History Museum, London for voucher comparisons. Data management follows practices promoted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and are used to calculate indicators similar to those in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and regional biodiversity targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
MEDITS time series have documented changes in demersal assemblages, shifts in species composition including range expansions of thermophilic taxa, and trends in biomass and size structure that have informed assessments by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries and national advisory bodies. Publications in journals and synthesis reports have cited links to broader phenomena addressed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, regime shifts observed in studies of the North Atlantic Oscillation, and anthropogenic pressures discussed in reports by the European Environment Agency. MEDITS outputs have underpinned fisheries management measures, stock rebuilding plans advised under the Common Fisheries Policy, and conservation planning in networks such as MedPAN.
Coordination occurs through steering committees that include representatives from the European Commission, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, national research institutes, and regional organizations like the Permanent Commission for the Mediterranean. Funding and logistical support combine national budgets, European instruments including the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, and technical assistance from entities such as UNEP/MAP. Collaboration extends to academic centers including University of Barcelona, University of Bologna, University of Athens, and research programs at institutions like the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, enabling training, data sharing standards, and capacity building across Mediterranean countries.
Category:Marine surveys Category:Mediterranean Sea