Mediterranean Sensitive Habitats (MEDISEH) is a framework contract (MAREA Consortium) financed by DG MARE, focusing on Mediterranean Sensitive Habitats in a bifold way. Within an ecosystem approach to fisheries, the project aims to the compilation of information on historical and current data on the locations and the status of seagrass beds, coralligenous and mäerl beds all over the Mediterranean basin, the identification and mapping of suitable areas for Posidonia, coralligenous and mäerl communities by developing habitat distribution models at different spatial scales.
In addition, information is compiled on existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Mediterranean area, as well as Fishing Restricted Areas (FRAs) that are under any form of national or international regulation. Within a fisheries oriented way, the project also focused on the compilation and mapping of the information that is associated to the location of nursery and spawning aggregations for six small pelagic and twelve demersal fish species included in Appendix VII of Council Regulation (EC) No 199/2008, as well as for the species subject to minimum size (Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006-Annex III). Integration and dissemination of the information is done through a Geographic Information System (GIS) that integrates environmental dimension into fisheries management, operating as a consulting tool for spatial management and conservation planning.
IMBRIW’s researcher Dr Marianna Giannoulaki was the scientific coordinator of the project and partners involved were the following Institutes: HCMR-IMBRIW, HCMR-IO, IEO (Spain), CoNISMa (Italy), CIBM (Italy), CNR (Italy), COISPA (Italy), MCFS (Malta).