A Risk Assessment Study of Fisheries and Contamination in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Abstract

Mediterranean Maritime Protection Areas (MMPAs), established for long-term preservation, are increasingly overrun by invasive organisms of tropical provenance, presenting fresh difficulties for officials and managers in the twenty-first century. This research evaluated the susceptibility of 140 coastal Marine Managed Protected Areas to nine highly invasive fish species under present and anticipated climatic scenarios. The study forecasted the habitat appropriateness of introduced species by an ensemble forecasting technique and calibrated algorithms based on the comprehensive dispersion of the organism. The research classified three categories of risk for MMPAs, predicated on the idea that enhanced surroundings render protected regions more susceptible to incursion. Future predictions anticipate an expansion of suitable habitats for all evaluated species in the Mediterranean (MT) basins. In the Levantine Ocean, nearly all Marine Protected Areas are in significant danger of intrusion by the organisms under consideration in both present and potential situations. MMPAs in other MT industries are still inadequate for most invasive microorganisms. The study addresses significant data deficiencies on the susceptibility of MMPAs to the impending proliferation of warm-water intruders by delineating spatial objectives within a worldwide change framework