Dimitris Damalas

Dimitris Damalas

Main Researcher

Tel: +30-2810-337817

Short CV

  • Sc., Mathematics, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 1998
  • Sc., Biological Oceanography, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 2002
  • D., Biological Oceanography, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 2009

He has been working as an Associate Research scientist at the Section of Zoology/Mar. Biology of the Biology Dept. (Univ. of Athens) between 1998 and 2003 and at HCMR between 2003 and 2011.

He currently holds a Principal Researcher post at the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters of HCMR. He has earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in Biological Oceanography from the Biology Department, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. His Master thesis focused on the study of large pelagic sharks in the Eastern Mediterranean, while his PhD investigated the impact of oceanographical conditions on the spatio-temporal distribution of swordfish and blue sharks.

He has a multidisciplinary background (mathematics, informatics, statistics, marine biology, fisheries science) which allowed him to get involved in a series of topics: fisheries management, population dynamics, elasmobranch biology; Data Collection Framework implementation; stakeholder perception and EU policies; design and implementation of web-based fishery databases;; deep water species; reconstructing fisheries trends based on historical data; mapping of essential fish habitats; identification of deep sea coral communities; mapping of EUNIS ecotopes; fisheries control & enforcement. During his 19 years of involvement in Mediterranean and European fisheries he has participated in more than 20 EU funded competitive projects and as of today has published 39 papers in peer-reviewed journals and more than 50 non-peer reviewed papers, working documents and technical reports.

Between 2011-2015, as a European Commission employee at the Joint Research Centre he has been servicing the Scientific Technical and Economic Committee on Fisheries (STECF) as focal person for the Mediterranean fisheries management.

Indicative Publications

  • Damalas, D., Sgardeli, V., Vasilakopoulos, P., Tserpes, G., Maravelias, C. (2021) Evidence of climate-driven regime shifts in the Aegean Sea’s demersal resources: A study spanning six decades Ecology and Evolution, 11 (23), pp. 16951-16971.
  • Mancusi, C., … Damalas, D.,et al. (2020). MEDLEM database, a data collection on large Elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean and Black seas. Mediterranean Marine Science, 0. doi:https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.21148
  • Damalas, D., Ligas, A., Tsagarakis, K., Vassilopoulou, V., Stergiou, K. I., Kallianiotis, A., … Maynou, F. (2018). The “discard problem” in Mediterranean fisheries, in the face of the European Union landing obligation: the case of bottom trawl fishery and implications for management. Mediterranean Marine Science, 19(3): 459-476. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.14195
  • Damalas, D., Kalyvioti, G., Sabatella, E. C., & Stergiou, K. I., (2018). Open data in the life sciences: The “Selfish Scientist Paradox.” Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 18(1) 27–36. https://doi.org/10.3354/esep00182
  • Dörner, H., Casey, J., Carvalho, N., Damalas, D., Graham, N., Guillen, J., … Vasilakopoulos, P., (2018). Collection and dissemination of fisheries data in support of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics, 18(1): 15–25. https://doi.org/10.3354/esep00183
  • Damalas, D., (2017). A brief reflection on the Mediterranean fisheries: Βad news , Good news and Νo news. J Fish Res. 2017, 1(1) 27–30.
  • Druon, JN, Fromentin, JM, Hanke, A., Damalas, D. et al., 2015. Habitat suitability of the Atlantic bluefin tuna by size class: an ecological niche approach. Progress in Oceanography.(Accepted) 142:30-46.
  • Damalas, D., Maravelias, C. D., Osio, G. C., Maynou, F., Sbrana, M., Sartor, P., and Casey, J. (2015). Historical discarding in Mediterranean fisheries: a fishers’ perception. ICES Journal  of Marine Science, doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsv141.Damalas, D., Maravelias, C.D., Osio, G.C., Maynou, F., Sbrana, M., Sartor, P., 2014. “Once upon a time in the Mediterranean”. Long term trends of Mediterranean fisheries resources based on fishers’ traditional ecological knowledge. PLoSONE 10(3): e0119330. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119330.
  • Damalas D., (2015). Mission impossible: Discard management plans for the EU Mediterranean fisheries under the reformed Common Fisheries Policy. Fisheries Research 165: 96-99.
  • Damalas, D., Megalofonou P., (2014). Age-dependent habitat identification of Mediterranean swordfish: application on commercial fishery data and potential use in fisheries management. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture 22 (4): 257-273.
  • Damalas, D., Maravelias, C.D., Kavadas, S., (2014). Advances in fishing power: a study spanning 50 years. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture 22(1):112–121.
  • Damalas, D., Vassilopoulou, V., (2013). Slack regulation compliance in the Mediterranean fisheries: a paradigm from the Greek Aegean Sea demersal trawl fishery, modeling discard ogives. Fisheries Management & Ecology, 20(1): 21-33.
  • Kavvadas, S., Damalas, D., Tserpes, G., Georgakarakos, E., Papaconstantinou, C., Maravelias, C., (2012). IMAS-Fish – Integrated Management System to support the sustainability of Greek fisheries resources. A multidisciplinary web-based database management system: implementation, capabilities, utilization and future prospects for fisheries stakeholders. Mediterranean Marine Science 14(1): 109-118.
  • Damalas, D., Megalofonou, P. (2012). Discovering where bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1785), might go: Using environmental and fishery data to map potential tuna habitat in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Scientia Marina, 76(4): 691-704.
  • Damalas, D., Megalofonou, P., (2012). Occurrences of large sharks in the open waters of the south-eastern Mediterranean Sea. Journal of Natural History, 46(43-44): 2701-2723.
  • Damalas, D., Vassilopoulou, V., (2011). Chondrichthyan by-catch and discards in the demersal trawl fishery of the central Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Fisheries Research 108(1): 142-152.
  • Damalas, D., Maravelias, C.D., Katsanevakis, S., Karageorgis, A.P., Papaconstantinou, C., (2010). Seasonal abundance of non-commercial demersal fish in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in relation to hydrographic and sediment characteristics. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 89(1): 107-118.
  • Damalas, D.,  Megalofonou, P., (2009).  Environmental effects on blue shark (Prionace glauca) and oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) distribution based on fishery-dependent data from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Journal  Of  The  Marine  Biological  Association Of  The  United Kingdom 90(3): 467-480.
  • Damalas, D., Megalofonou, P., Apostolopoulou, M., (2007). Environmental, spatial, temporal and operational effects on swordfish (Xiphias gladius) catch rates of eastern Mediterranean Sea longline fisheries. Fisheries Research, 84 (2): 233-246.
2022-02-17T12:00:42+02:0012/02/2018|Our people, Researchers|

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