The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions

Periklis Kleitou; Jason M. Hall-Spencer; Ioannis Savva; Demetris Kletou; Margarita Hadjistylli; Ernesto Azzurro; Stelios Katsanevakis; Charalampos Antoniou; Louis Hadjioannou; Niki Chartosia; Maria Christou; Yiannis Christodoulides; Ioannis Giovos; Carlos Jimenez; Sonia Smeraldo; Siân E. Rees

doi:10.3390/jmse9030325

The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions

Periklis Kleitou^*
, Jason M. Hall-Spencer^*
, Ioannis Savva
, Demetris Kletou
, Margarita Hadjistylli
, Ernesto Azzurro
, Stelios Katsanevakis
, Charalampos Antoniou
, Louis Hadjioannou
, Niki Chartosia
, Maria Christou
, Yiannis Christodoulides
, Ioannis Giovos
, Carlos Jimenez
, Sonia Smeraldo
, Siân E. Rees

^*Corresponding author for this work

Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab
Frederick University
Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Cyprus
Institute of Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies
Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli
University of the Aegean
Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre
University of Cyprus
iSea

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.

Original language	English
Article number	325
Journal	Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Volume	9
Issue number	3
Early online date	15 Mar 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030325
Publication status	Published - 15 Mar 2021

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 14 Life Below Water

Keywords

invasive species
alien species
non-indigenous species
Lessepsian
risk assessment
Regulation 1143
recommendations
management
control
early response

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10.3390/jmse9030325Licence: CC BY

Jmse-09-00325Final published version, 1.08 MB

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Kleitou, P., Hall-Spencer, J. M., Savva, I., Kletou, D., Hadjistylli, M., Azzurro, E., Katsanevakis, S., Antoniou, C., Hadjioannou, L., Chartosia, N., Christou, M., Christodoulides, Y., Giovos, I., Jimenez, C., Smeraldo, S., & Rees, S. E. (2021). The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9(3), Article 325. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030325

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abstract = "The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016{\textendash}21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.",

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Kleitou, P, Hall-Spencer, JM, Savva, I, Kletou, D, Hadjistylli, M, Azzurro, E, Katsanevakis, S, Antoniou, C, Hadjioannou, L, Chartosia, N, Christou, M, Christodoulides, Y, Giovos, I, Jimenez, C, Smeraldo, S & Rees, SE 2021, 'The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions', Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 9, no. 3, 325. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9030325

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T1 - The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions

AU - Kleitou, Periklis

AU - Hall-Spencer, Jason M.

AU - Savva, Ioannis

AU - Kletou, Demetris

AU - Hadjistylli, Margarita

AU - Azzurro, Ernesto

AU - Katsanevakis, Stelios

AU - Antoniou, Charalampos

AU - Hadjioannou, Louis

AU - Chartosia, Niki

AU - Christou, Maria

AU - Christodoulides, Yiannis

AU - Giovos, Ioannis

AU - Jimenez, Carlos

AU - Smeraldo, Sonia

AU - Rees, Siân E.

PY - 2021/3/15

Y1 - 2021/3/15

N2 - The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.

AB - The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.

KW - invasive species

KW - alien species

KW - non-indigenous species

KW - Lessepsian

KW - risk assessment

KW - Regulation 1143

KW - recommendations

KW - management

KW - control

KW - early response

UR - https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/bms-research/702/

U2 - 10.3390/jmse9030325

DO - 10.3390/jmse9030325

M3 - Article

SN - 2077-1312

VL - 9

JO - Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

JF - Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

IS - 3

M1 - 325

ER -

The Case of Lionfish (Pterois miles) in the Mediterranean Sea Demonstrates Limitations in EU Legislation to Address Marine Biological Invasions

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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