MAIN RESULTS
STATE OF THE ART ON DATA COLLECTION, BACKGROUND AND LIST OF POTENTIAL INDICATORS FOR AN EAF IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS
The reception of 114 files of information by all partners proved that all CREAM partners were committed to extracting the information requested from their archives and routine monitoring programmes.
The spatial gaps identified correspond to countries which are not part of the consortium such as Libya and Algeria, or regions (Sardinia, East of Italy) not covered by CREAM partners.
In terms of temporal information, only the last 20 years can be used, and apart from some exceptions it will be impossible to create indicators prior to the 90s. There also are some gaps in the most recent years, in particular linked to the fact that Greece ceased to collect data from 2008 onwards.
In general all data available are in Excel files, which could lead to inconsistencies in references used when compiled at a supra-national level. In the Western Mediterranean, a major part of the data are stored in a structured database which usually implies better quality. A large amount of information was based on reports and outcomes of research projects and even a book. This kind of information is much more difficult to process.
There was an extensive amount of information provided by seaDataNet to the project for the abiotic component. This information collected by buoys or other electronic data collection devices is useful when implementing EAF, in particular in the elaboration of abiotic indicators. It is expected that the outcomes of LaMed project will contribute to the knowledge of the institution component of the EAF. The anthropogenic activities (other than fishing) are an essential part of the understanding of the trends and status of ecosystems. These activities are, amongst others, aquaculture, pollution, construction, modification of habitats, etc. Several partners listed some of these activities, but it was agreed between the partners that without guidance on what information is important, we should not seek this kind of data.
The gaps identified by are often confirmed. For example, the national inventories of marine and coastal species and habitats are not homogeneous. For most countries they are incomplete; but when RAC-SPA says that the effort made is more focused on the north-western Mediterranean, this current data mining suggests that it is more in the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This is not surprising considering the specificities of the region with countries' economies ranging from low-income food-deficit to highly developed; their coastlines from deserted to heavily urbanised; and their fisheries from unindustrialized and labour intensive to modern and capital intensive. Although often overlooked in the statistics, these fisheries play important livelihood, food security, cultural, and recreational roles.
