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| Mediterranean International Trawl Survey | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mediterranean International Trawl Survey |
| Acronym | MITS |
| Region | Mediterranean Sea |
| Established | 1994 |
| Coordinated by | International Commission for the Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea |
| Frequency | biennial |
| Vessels | multiple research vessels |
| Methods | bottom trawl, standardized sampling |
Mediterranean International Trawl Survey is a coordinated fisheries and biodiversity monitoring program operating in the Mediterranean Sea that conducts standardized bottom-trawl sampling to assess demersal fish and invertebrate communities. The survey informs assessments by agencies such as the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and regional bodies including the European Commission and the Union for the Mediterranean. It links academic institutions, national institutes, and conservation NGOs, contributing to policy instruments like the Common Fisheries Policy and conventions such as the Barcelona Convention.
The survey integrates contributions from institutes including the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, the Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer, the Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, and the Instituto Español de Oceanografía, coordinating sampling across subregions like the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, Balearic Sea, and Levantine Sea. Outputs support stock assessments used by bodies such as the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries and feed biodiversity syntheses for organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Collaborating universities include University of Barcelona, University of Bologna, University of Athens, University of Lisbon, and University of Montpellier.
Origins trace to cooperative cruises in the 1980s involving the Commission Internationale pour l’Exploration Scientifique de la Mer Méditerranée and national fleets from France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey. Formalization occurred amid initiatives led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean during the 1990s, with methodological harmonization influenced by protocols from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and pilot projects funded by the European Union Framework Programmes. Key milestones include adoption of unified gear standards, intercalibration workshops hosted by the Joint Research Centre, and data-sharing agreements inspired by models from the Global Ocean Observing System and World Register of Marine Species collaborations. Notable participants and conveners have included scientists affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Primary objectives are to quantify temporal and spatial trends in demersal abundance and biomass, to provide inputs for stock assessments under the Common Fisheries Policy and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, and to monitor impacts of environmental change recognized by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Methodology harmonizes bottom-trawl protocols, species identification, length-frequency measurements, and benthic bycatch classification drawing on taxonomic resources such as the European Register of Marine Species and the World Register of Marine Species. Quality assurance engages reference collections at institutions like the Natural History Museum, London, the Museo di Storia Naturale di Genova, and the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, and leverages training from the International Union for Conservation of Nature species assessment groups.
Design employs stratified random sampling across bathymetric strata and habitat types defined using hydrographic datasets from the Copernicus Programme and bathymetry compilations by GEBCO. Coverage spans territorial waters and high seas portions of the Mediterranean Sea with transects sampled by research vessels such as R/Vs from Ifremer, IEO, and national fleets from Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt. Statistical design borrows from principles developed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and survey frameworks used in the North Sea and Baltic Sea monitoring programs, enabling meta-analyses with datasets from the International Bottom Trawl Survey family.
Sampling protocols specify gear types (standardized otter trawls), tow duration, vessel speed, and depth strata with biological sampling that records species, counts, lengths, weights, maturity stage, and stomach contents. Protocols reference taxonomic keys from institutions including the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and the Smithsonian Institution and adopt biochemical and genetic sub-sampling for stable isotope analysis and DNA barcoding supported by laboratories at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington. Environmental covariates recorded include temperature, salinity, oxygen, and substrate type, measured with sensors traceable to standards from the World Meteorological Organization and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.
Data are curated in regional repositories with metadata standards compatible with Ocean Biogeographic Information System and European Marine Observation and Data Network frameworks. Harmonized datasets are delivered to policy and scientific users via platforms used by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Environment Agency, and the Mediterranean Science Commission. Data governance follows agreements inspired by the Barcelona Convention reporting and benefits from visualization tools developed by the Joint Research Centre and portal services maintained by the Copernicus Marine Service.
Surveys have documented long-term declines in several demersal stocks and shifts in species composition associated with warming, documented range expansions of thermophilic species including lessepsian migrants linked to the Suez Canal opening and documented invasions studied by teams from University of Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv University. Results have informed stock recovery plans evaluated by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and conservation measures proposed to the European Commission and national authorities. Scientific outputs appear in journals including Marine Ecology Progress Series, ICES Journal of Marine Science, Journal of Sea Research, Frontiers in Marine Science, and Global Change Biology and contribute to assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The program has advanced understanding of demersal biodiversity patterns relevant to marine spatial planning by the Union for the Mediterranean and conservation designations under frameworks like the Natura 2000 network and national marine protected area initiatives. Category:Marine surveys