Monitoring Marine Invasive Species in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

The objective of this guide is to aid Mediterranean MPAs in developing an effective IAS programme. To facilitate this, a draft Marine Invasive Alien Species Strategy for the MedPAN Network was prepared a priori and discussed in several regional workshops with MPA managers and experts (MedPAN Draft IAS Strategy, 2012). The overall aim of the strategy is to establish a common framework for MedPAN members to take action on marine invasive species. The present guide takes forward some of the described actions, addressing the key goals and main recommendations of the strategy, with a view to the prevention and early detection of new IAS entering the MPA environment. Furthermore, it contains information on the introduction pathways and impacts of major marine species that have invaded the Mediterranean Sea, on how to monitor and identify them and on what can be done to prevent their establishment and spread in MPAs.