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

On 20, 21 and 22 May, the National Biodiversity Forum, organized by the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), was held. Hosted by the University of Palermo, over 600 researchers from all over Italy discussed sensitive issues such as the restoration of degraded areas, nature conservation, the relationship between nature and well-being and the development of effective tools to prevent biodiversity loss. The ultimate goal of the NBFC is to conserve, restore, monitor and enhance Italian and Mediterranean biodiversity. During the two days, the plenary sessions welcomed the reports of expert Italian researchers on the following topics: The state of biodiversity in Italy, Threats to biodiversity, Invasive and endemic species, Biodiversity Restoration, Innovative technologies for biodiversity monitoring. This was followed by 5-minute presentations of a selection of posters. In addition, round tables were held in parallel sessions on Biodiversity Enhancement: Bioprospecting for Human Health and Biodiversity for Productive Activities; Research and innovation in biodiversity in NBFC; and technical tables on: Conservation, Citizen Citizen Science and Biodiversity Expert. In the final phase, prizes were awarded as “career recognition” for renowned scientists, the 15 best posters were awarded and awards were given also to 8 Spokes leaders including IRBIM Director Gian Marco Luna, leader of Spoke 2 together with his colleague Prof. Maria Chiara Chiantore. Also present at the event were the president of the CNR Maria Chiara Carrozza, IRBIM heads Luca Bolognini and Sergio Vitale and several IRBIM researchers from Mazara Del Vallo, Ancona and Messina. During the days, the Italian scientific community shared the most significant results of the latest research on the theme of biodiversity and in front of the more than 300 posters, rich exchanges of experiences and possible collaborations were held. Finally, on May 22nd, recognized worldwide as the “International Day for Biological Diversity“, the Biodiversity Gateway was presented, a gateway of access and connection dedicated to supporting the design of concrete international scientific and technological collaborations concerning the Mediterranean. Among the promoters of the Gateway – NBFC, in addition to the University of Palermo and Arpa, the CNR plays a fundamental role as coordinator of the project. You can watch the event on the NBFC channel and find the detailed program, information material and posters presented on the NBFC page dedicated to the National Biodiversity Forum 2024.

CNR-IRBIM participated in the second Forum on Fisheries Science in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea (FishForum), the largest scientific meeting dedicated to fisheries and related issues. The FishForum aims to promote discussion and cooperation between scientists and policymakers for the production of scientific advice, in order to better shape the future of fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and advance the region towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). CNR IRBIM researchers from Mazara del Vallo Sergio Vitale (Oral presentation) and Umberto Grande (Oral presentation) and from Ancona Alessandro Lucchetti (Oral presentation), Daniel Li Veli (Oral presentation) and Pamela Lattanzi (Poster) joined over 400 participants to discuss fisheries research from different perspectives: oceanographic, social and economic, for effective fisheries management. Among the colleagues who participated in the Fishforum there was also Enrico Arneri who participated in the round table “Expert roundtable: Fisheries research in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea”. Their scientific contributions were widely appreciated by the scientific community present at the event. Three themes were central to the event: better science for better advice, healthy seas and sustainable fisheries, and economic and technical innovation. In addition to these, a central topic was climate change, an issue of enormous importance for fisheries everywhere, and particularly in a region that is warming 20% faster than the global average. Several speakers addressed key aspects of the topic, including how to increase knowledge of the effects of ocean warming on regional fisheries and the potential adaptation strategies available. In particular, an agreement was reached to establish a network of climate experts dedicated to fisheries in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. From this LINK you can access the program and the contents of the forum.
Finally, Jade Millot, a French PhD student under the supervision of IRBIM colleague Mazara del Vallo Valentina Lauria, won for the best presentation in the “Early career scientist” category with an oral communication entitled “Vulnerable marine ecosystem conservation and spatial planning in the Mediterranean”.

On February 15, 2024, the meeting entitled “Gaia Blu: an infrastructure at the service of the marine scientific community” was held at the Marconi room of the CNR Centrale, dedicated entirely to the new research ship of the CNR. During the day there were numerous speeches to present in details the new outfitting of the ship, the on-board instrumentation, the first campaigns conducted in the Mediterranean, and also the research perspectives and management structure. The Director of the Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment (DSTTA), Fabio Trincardi, retraced the main stages of the preparation of the Gaia Blu ship, a real technological jewel, that once was the FALKOR vessel ship of the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI). The changes implemented make the Blue Gaia a ship suitable for operating in ocean waters. During the first “Jamme Gaia“ cruise, a survey comparable to one of about twenty years earlier was carried out by researchers and technologists of the Neapolitan CNR which will allow to evaluate the evolution of the instrumentation on a technological level and the evolution of the seabed under the pressure of natural processes, near the Gulf of Naples. While the campaign “PIONEER: Processes in the IONian Sea: Exploring, Experimenting, Researching” was dedicated to the Ionian Sea and allowed to test the on-board instrumentation; details of the numerous tests will soon be available on a page dedicated to the ship. Space was given to the problem of acquiring new instrumentation, and in particular of a Remotely Operated Vehicle- ROV, for which a careful evaluation is required; and on the importance, necessity, opportunity and also, of course, the complexity of third-party management of the ship The meeting was also an opportunity to explicitate the actual need to have other smaller ships to recreate the CNR’s naval fleet; the economic considerations and the comparison with otherEuropean Research Centers dedicated to the sea were punctually discussed by Andrea Miccoli, of CNR-IRBIM. Also for CNR-IRBIM, colleagues Andrea Berardinelli and Emilio Notti are involved in the activities of Gaia Blu. The speeches and participation in the day showed that all the researchers involved in the activities of the Gaia Blu ship have carried out a crucial service for the growth of the Institution with great generosity. Finally, it was announced that the selection of applications opened in December for the working groups had been concluded, with a total of 38 applications received and the formation of the following groups: 1. Management of the ship access process, 2. Logistics and Investments, 3. Data management, 4. Communication and outreach. Here you can download the program of the entire day.

The annual MEDITS (International bottom trawl survey in the Mediterranean) campaign has just ended. The MEDITS campaign aims to obtain baseline information on the biological status of most demersal fish stocks on a global scale in the Mediterranean Sea through systematic bottom trawl surveys. The project began in 1994 as part of the cooperation between several research institutes of four Mediterranean Member States (France, Greece, Italy and Spain) of the European Union. Over time, until the advent of the European Data Collection Framework (DCF) and Management for Fisheries, the MEDITS project was joined by new partners from Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, Malta and Cyprus. This programme has been designed with the following basic aims: (i) contribute to the characterisation of bottom fisheries resources in the Mediterranean in terms of population distribution (relative abundance indices) and population structures (length distributions); (ii) provide data for the modelling the dynamics of the studied species. The overall goal was, and is, to conduct a joint scientific trawl survey in the Mediterranean in which all participants would use the same gear, sampling protocol and methodology. These protocols were defined taking into account the characteristics of the areas covered by the first survey, but also in a way that would easily allow for an expansion of the program to other areas of the Mediterranean. They include survey design, sampling tools (features and handling), information collected, data management up to the production of common standardized data analyses. IRBIM CNR is involved in this program with two of its sites, respectively IRBIM CNR in Mazara del Vallo for GSA16 (Geographical sub-area South of Sicily) and IRBIM CNR of Messina for GSA 10 (Geographical sub-area South and central Tyrrhenian sea), as part of the National Fisheries Data Collection Work Plan 2023 for the study of demersal resources and to evaluate the post-capture survival of elasmobranchs and bony fish.

The Department of Earth System Sciences and Environmental Technologies held its conference on December 12th, at the conference hall of CNR Headquarter. In the presence of over 300 researchers and as many colleagues present remotely, the Director Fabio Trincardi presented the missions and research lines of the various institutes affiliated to the Department, highlighting their scientific value and the strong impact they have, have had and, above all, must strongly maintain in the creation of scientific knowledge, in the transfer to civil society and in the impact on decision-making policies. The day was very intense: rich in scientific contents, reports and research results, accompanied by considerations on their economic value. There were also suggestions from experts on scientific hypotheses for the near future. For CNR-IRBIM, Enrico Arneri presented the National Program for Fishery Data Collection, which was created in response to a legislative requirement. He quantified its economic impact and suggested improvements. The discussion turned to the impact that the PNRR-National Recovery and Resilience Plan has had on the creation of new national centers, including the NBFC – National Biodiversity Future Centre, in which the CNR-IRBIM is involved as Spoke 2 leader, the Biodiversity Gateway, Itineris –the Italian Integrated Environmental Research Infrastructures System, for enhancing the research infrastructures. The session dedicated to the 10 Working Groups was highly dynamic, with brief presentations of the cross-cutting, multidisciplinary, and innovative research activities of the groups. Those groups were often created around urgent environmental issues, from drought to the carbon cycle, from paleoclimate to planetary geosciences. The CNR President, Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza, then spoke about the CNR relaunch plan in terms of the ERC-European Research Council disciplinary sectors and about its perspectives. The “Project Coordination and International Dimension” and “Keynote” sessions were combined, with presentations from CNR researchers who have been involved in significant experiences abroad, foreign researchers who have been hosted by the CNR, and important cutting-edge research topics on Earth, Fire, Water and Climate. The day was closed by Director Trincardi, who defended the Department’s work, citing its scientific importance and the quality of its research, demonstrated by an extraordinarily rich day in terms of content. In-depth information, full program and materials on the dedicated page of the departmental conference.

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!