Author: Gian Marco Luna

On 11 June, at the age of 74, Marino Vacchi passed away in Genoa. He was a fine ichthyologist, an accurate researcher, trained at the Genoese school of Italian marine biology.

Marino, under the guidance of Dino Levi, and together with Alvaro Abella, Patrizia Jereb, Sergio Ragonese and Franco Andaloro, has established at the CNR of Mazara del Vallo one of the founding nuclei of the biology of Italian fisheries, developing since 1985 the approaches based on experimental fishing campaigns, trawl surveys, and population dynamics to assess the state of demersal resources of Italian fisheries.

One of his first works in Mazara on the sexual maturity of the red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea in the Strait of Sicily, written together with Dino Levi, but in which the scientific background gained in Genoa is recognizable, is still a useful reference for the subject in the Mediterranean. He participated in the first fishing campaigns in the Strait of Sicily since the spring of 1985, contributing to the establishment of the historical series on the distribution, abundance and demography of demersal resources among the most important in the Mediterranean. Another founding nucleus, more oriented towards pelagic resources and fishing technology, was that of Ancona. Both sites, merged into the Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnology (IRBIM), are currently the cornerstones of fisheries sciences in the Mediterranean.

The experience gained in Mazara del Vallo in this first phase of his professional career has provided Marino with an important opportunity to deepen the knowledge on elasmobranchs already gained since the time of his degree thesis on a small bathyal shark, Etmopterus spinax. Over time, Marino has become one of the leading experts on elasmobranchs in the Mediterranean. He was co-author of the Italian RedList of cartilaginous fishes, gave his fundamental contribution to the compilation of the checklist of chondroichthys of the Italian seas and contributed to the conservation actions of these fish vulnerable to fishing pressure under the aegis of the International Union for the Conservation of the Nature (IUCN).

After leaving the CNR, he worked at ICRAM, participating since the first expeditions in the National Research Program in Antarctica and actively participating in the study of the biology of Antarctic organisms, with particular reference to fish, also in collaboration with researchers from the Ancona office of CNR IRBIM. In recent years Marino has worked as a CNR associate at the Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment (IAS) in Genoa. Driven by a genuine naturalistic curiosity and a deep love for the sea, in addition to these important specific lines of research that have seen him as a protagonist, Marino collaborated with numerous researchers from different disciplines all related to marine biology and ecology, as evidenced by his vast scientific and popular production.

With his passing, we have lost a colleague capable of both accurate specialist investigations and multidisciplinary approaches to the dynamics of marine ecosystems.

Written by Pietro Rizzo, Fabrizio Serena, Sergio Vitale, Fabio Fiorentino

In the video, the latest sighting, along the Calabrian coast, of the lionfish, which has very long and thin venomous spines on its dorsal, anal and pelvic fins. These are the first video images testifying to the presence of the species in Italian seas.

The lionfish is one of the most invasive species in the world. The video was made in Calabria as part of the citizen science campaign Attenti a quei 4! promoted by Ispra and IRBIM CNR for alien species sightings in the Mediterranean, in collaboration with the AlienFish project.
ISPRA and CNR-IRBIM recall the joint campaign between the two institutes, in collaboration with the Alien Fish.

Reduce biodiversity loss by 30 percent and recover at least 15 percent of ecosystem balances through ecological habitat restoration actions by 2030. These are just some of the goals of the National Biodiversity Future Center, a project coordinated by the National Research Council (CNR), involving 48 partner Institutions and Universities, totaling more than 1,300 researchers and a few hundred new recruits. The ambitious Project includes funding of more than 320 million euros for the first three years (2023-2025), allocated under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The proposal aims to field the most powerful biodiversity research and innovation initiative ever attempted in Italy, and is based on a synergy between Universities, Research Institutions, Foundations and Private Companies.

The Center will be structured according to the Hub&Spoke approach, with a central point in Sicily at the University of Palermo, and eight nodes distributed throughout the Country. “The formal act of establishment of the Center is a decisive step,” comments Maria Chiara Carrozza, CNR President, “achieved thanks to the great work of all the partners involved and the high level of professionalism. The Center will be able to represent, in the years to come, a point of reference for the global community, called to react and act in the face of the imposing challenges imposed by climate change. What we are aiming for is an ambitious and highly significant goal for the research sector, with positive repercussions on our country’s role on the international scene and on actions to boost the national economy.” Biodiversity, experts explain, plays a crucial role in the functioning of all the Planet’s ecosystems and the consequent provision of goods and services, with a direct impact on the well-being of the community and the individual. Thus, a need emerges to act on the different levels of biological organization that encompass the essential processes, functions and interactions between organisms and their environment.

The NBFC was established to aggregate national scientific research excellence and modern technologies to support operational interventions aimed at monitoring, preserving and restoring biodiversity in the Peninsula’s marine, terrestrial and urban ecosystems. The purpose of the Center will also be to provide innovative and effective tools for policy makers to counter biodiversity erosion (conservation and restoration). The Hub and Nodes also aim to quantify ecosystem services and implement actions to conserve and restore biodiversity across the Mediterranean, identify innovative technological solutions to achieve Green Deal targets related to carbon sequestration capacity and circular economy principles. At the same time, the infrastructure will help train a new class of researchers with multidisciplinary skills and make Italy a hub for the study and conservation of biodiversity, creating awareness in civil society about the importance of valuing biodiversity.

Involved as partners, in addition to the CNR: the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics, the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, the Polytechnic University of Milan, the University of Molise, the University of Tuscia, the University of Florence, the University of Milan-Bicocca, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the University of Naples Federico II, the University of Palermo, the University of Pavia, the University of Rome La Sapienza, the University of Sassari, the University of Salerno, the University of Siena, the University of Udine, the University of Verona, the University of Roma Tre, the University of Salento, and the University of Bologna. the University of Genoa, the University of Padua, the Polytechnic University of Marche, the University of Turin, Aboca SPA Società Agricola, CINECA, CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, CORILA, CREA Council for Research in Agriculture and Analysis of Agricultural Economics, Dompé farmaceutici S.p.A, ENEA, ENEL, ERSAF – Ente di Ricerca Scientifica ed Alta Formazione, CIMA Foundation – International Center in Environmental Monitoring, Edmund Mach Foundation of San Michele all’Adige, IMC Foundation International Marine Center ONLUS, Ri.MED Foundation, FS Sistemi Urbani, HUMANITAS UNIVERSITY, Infrastrutture S.p.A, Innomed srl, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Novamont S.p.A., University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant’Anna and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

IRBIM CNR participates in the Center with the contribution of more than 50 researchers from the four Institute’s Research Centers, with research on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, marine microbiology and biodiversity.

A year of IRBIM CNR described in pictures, in the video made by Daniel Li Veli and presented at IRBIM DAY 2022 held in the Conference Room at CNR Headquarters in Rome. Happy viewing!

On TG2 at 13:00, Pierluigi Penna, Fabio Grati and Gian Marco Luna talked about the rising temperatures in our seas and the arrival of invasive alien species. Thanks to Tg2 correspondent Giulia Apollonio and the crew of the IRBIM CNR vessel Tecnopesca II. With beautiful images of the sea of Monte Conero (Ancona).

Katia Buonasera, Simone Cappello and Mariella Genovese from the IRBIM CNR headquarters in Messina presented ‘Bioremediation and Biosensors: how to save the sea and its biodiversity by drawing inspiration from nature’. A virtual tour of the Institute, located in the beautiful setting of the Strait of Messina, to talk about the remediation of contaminated water using hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, and biosensors based on these bacteria as a low environmental impact tool to detect the presence of hydrocarbons in seawater.

Monitoring activities on the interaction between cetaceans and professional fishing off the Marche coast continue as part of the project LifeDelfi. These striking images come to us from the CNR IRBIM team and document several groups of bottlenose dolphins interacting with the so-called ‘flying pair’ fishing system, aimed at catching small pelagics, mainly anchovies and sardines. With the cooperation of fishermen, experts will be able to test and improve the effectiveness of visual deterrents mounted on fishing nets.

The images and video are by Daniel Li Veli from the CNR IRBIM headquarters in Ancona.