ROME (AP) – The Mediterranean Sea of our ancestors is no more.
scientists say climate changeLargely due to the burning of oil, coal, and gas, the Mediterranean Sea is getting hotter, introducing hundreds of new invasive fish species, and decimating indigenous populations.
As biodiversity declines, coastal area They will struggle to make ends meet the way they have known for generations.
“The ancient Greek Mediterranean of our grandfathers, elders and Greeks is gone forever. Many of its changes are irreversible,” said Ernesto Azzurro, a marine biologist at the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Living Resources and Biotechnology.
Warmth persists in the Mediterranean basin
Scientists have designated the Mediterranean Sea a climate change “hotspot,” with the region expected to warm by 2 to 6 degrees Celsius (3.6 to 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100. Heatwaves are likely to occur more frequently and become more extreme, according to the Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change, an independent network of scientists.
Ronan McAdam, an oceanographer at the European Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, said the main driver of the warming is that the oceans are closed basins and cannot radiate warmth like the vast oceans.
Azzurro said rising ocean temperatures are creating new homes for invasive species like the spotted puffer, a voracious predator and “the worst invader.”
These species are now entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal and heading towards France and Spain.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Mediterranean General Fisheries Commission said these invasive species have been around for decades, but their spread has accelerated since the early 2000s, coinciding with rising sea temperatures. For example, lionfish were first recorded in the eastern Mediterranean in 2012 and have since rapidly expanded westward.
“The Mediterranean will become even poorer with fewer species, simply because climate change has made this region of the Mediterranean, especially the eastern Mediterranean, much less suitable for native species,” Azzurro said.
Cyprus is close to the Suez Canal, so first Feel the impact of these invasive fish. Lionfish replaced native species such as red mullet, leaving fishermen disappointed as they saw a significant decline in native species popular with customers.
Additionally, there are rabbitfish that eat algae on the ocean floor, destroying the habitat of many native species.
“We know what needs to be done: we should reduce our use of fossil fuels,” said Piero Genovesi Papic, a zoologist at Italy’s Institute for Advanced Environmental Studies. “But it is definitely an urgent problem for humanity, and we all know the solution, but of course it requires a global and collective vision.”
Approximately 1,000 alien species have been confirmed.
Azzurro said about 1,000 invasive species have been identified in the Mediterranean, 800 of which are well established.
The changes are significant. Azzurro said 93% of the mollusc population has been lost in the shallow waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Mussels were once abundant along the Adriatic coast, but ocean temperatures that sometimes exceed 30 degrees Celsius have wiped out almost all of them.
From Venice in the north to Bari in the south, “the population decline was spectacular,” he said. “Unless we find populations that can survive across these different climates, the future of mussels is not a happy one, at least in the Adriatic Sea.”
Azzurro said his institute and its partners launched the “Watch Out for Those Four” campaign several years ago to raise awareness of the dangers invasive species pose to human health.
For example, puffer fish is poisonous and potentially deadly if eaten by humans. The poisonous spines of lionfish can cause serious injuries to those who are stung.
Experts say invasive species spread cannot be reversed
Scientists are discussing how coastal communities can respond. One way is to commercialize edible exotic species. The other is pay a fisherman to catch a fish Fugu and other foods are inedible and can be incinerated.
Some species, such as lionfish, “obviously have economic benefits, especially because they sell for such high prices in some countries,” Azzurro said. But fishermen are not taking advantage of the invasive species Dusky Spinefoot, whose numbers have increased significantly in Italian waters.
Papic, the zoologist, said it was “too slow” to reverse the spread of invasive species in the Mediterranean, but there were practical ways to reduce the impact.
The first is to prevent further migration by enforcing an international treaty that requires national authorities to treat ballast water on board ships that may carry such species.
“This is technically feasible and could reduce the number of new invasive species by 95 to 99 percent,” he said. Another strategy is to treat the hull with a special paint that deters unwanted hitchhikers from boarding.
Papic also said fisheries policies are being revised to allow native species to regain some of their numbers, including breeding molluscs that are less susceptible to invasive blue crabs.
“I think the challenge in the coming years will be to restore the environment and find new ways to restore the environment,” Papik said.
