The Malta Independent on Sunday
SOS Marine life! Conserve natives and control aliens
Mediterranean marine biodiversity is under threat due to the introduction of almost 1000 non-indigenous species with new species continuously being spotted. Their entry into the Mediterranean is mostly facilitated by shipping activities from the Atlantic and the Red Sea.
The Conservation Biology Research Group at the University of Malta (CBRGUM) has been actively working with sea users, including commercial and recreational fishermen, scuba divers, skin divers, Transport Malta, the AFM and the NGO BICREF for many years as part its long-term research efforts to monitor changes in local marine species. This has led to the discovery of new alien species in Maltese waters, with some recorded in the Mediterranean for the first time by the CBRG-UM, including the Cocoa damselfish, the Indopacific sergeant, the Squirrelfish, the Niger hind, the African Sergeant and the Dory snapper.
This work by the CBRG-UM is accompanied by detailed genetic analyses that allow not only the confirmation of the species identification but may also give an insight on the specimen’s geographic origin. This research group has recorded the presence of the lionfish in Maltese waters in 2016 and continues to follow on these cases through the immediate communications from fishermen, SCUBA divers and other sea users.
Some of these non-native species have now adapted to their new environment, reproducing and rapidly increasing in numbers with the risk of destabilizing native ecological communities. This is a serious situation that may impoverish native marine life through the invasiveness of some of these species that grow without control. Examples of such species include different species of pufferfish, the blue swimmer crab and the dusky spinefoot. The CBRGUM is led by conservation biology expert, Prof Adriana Vella in collaboration with Dr
Sandra Agius Darmanin, Dr Noel Vella and ngo BICREF volunteers.
To supplement ongoing field research efforts, sea users are encouraged to continue to report any sightings of alien or strange species supported by photographs (to add hyperlink: http://bicref.org/notices-tomariners/). For donations of alien specimens for conservation research, you may contact: Prof Vella on +356 99429592 and/or Dr Agius Darmanin on +356 99820014.
Specimens that contribute to new discoveries and therefore to timely conservation measures, will be eligible for a thank you gift provided by a sponsor (More information can be found on www.xpresstackle.com/sos). As long-term conservation research and monitoring is essential to safeguard native biodiversity in Maltese waters, sponsors are helpful to this goal.