Overview of the conservation status of the marine fishes of the Mediterranean Sea

Dania Abdul Malak, Suzanne R. Livingstone, David Pollard, Beth A. Polidoro, Annabelle Cuttelod, Michel Bariche, Murat Bilecenoglu, Kent E. Carpenter, Bruce B. Collette, Patrice Francour, Menachem Goren, Mohamed Hichem Kara, Enric Massutí, Costas Papaconstantinou and Leonardo Tunesi, (2011). Overview of the conservation status of the marine fishes of the Mediterranean Sea. Abdul Malak, D. et al. (2011). Overview of the Conservation Status of the Marine Fishes of the Mediterranean Sea. Gland, Switzerland and Malaga, Spain: IUCN. vii + 61pp. ISBN: 978-2-8317-1307-6

Abstract: This report reviews the conservation status of all native marine fishes occurring in the Mediterranean Sea, based on the assessments for 513 species and 6 subspecies using the IUCN’s Red List methodology. It identifies those marine fish species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level so that appropriate conservation actions can be taken to improve their conservation status. The geographical scope of this report is the Mediterranean Sea, from the Gibraltar Strait to the Marmara Sea. The Black Sea and the adjacent Atlantic waters are not included in this study. The conservation status of the Mediterranean marine fishes was assessed using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (IUCN 2001). This assessment was carried out during the course of two workshops, the first held in Istanbul (Turkey) in November 2007, and the second in Sète (France) in February 2008, as well as through correspondence with the relevant experts. More than 25 experts participated in this assessment process. For those species that are endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, the regional assessments are also considered to be global assessments (i.e. representing the entire global population of the species). Non-endemic Mediterranean species (meaning species that also have populations outside the Mediterranean Sea) were assessed at the regional level using the Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional Levels (IUCN 2003a). All of these assessments are available on the IUCN Red List website: www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/mediterranean.