New Scientific Study Reveals Alboran Sea’s Crucial Role in Mediterranean Ecosystem

The book is a compendium of the latest scientific knowledge on the geology, oceanography, biodiversity and fisheries in the Alboran Sea. It is the result of four years of research work involving more than a hundred (133) scientists from eight different countries and institutions such as the University of Malaga (UMA) or the National Institute of Fisheries Research of Morocco, reports La Opinion de Malaga.

"Our main motivation was to collect all the scientific information we had so far, as rigorously as possible, to establish a reliable database, because we are very concerned about the future of the Alboran Sea," said José Carlos Báez, researcher at the Oceanographic Center of Malaga (IEO, CSIC) and main author of the book, during its presentation at the Rectorate, in the presence of co-authors such as Antonio Flores, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and coordinator of one of the chapters, Juan Tomás Vazquez and Juan Antonio Camiñas.

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The future of the Alboran Sea in the face of climate change and coastal occupation is the central issue of the work. "It is well known that the planet is currently undergoing a global change affecting the Alboran Sea, its ecosystems and its populations. In this context, a public baseline of existing knowledge is necessary to be able to compare and monitor future changes," Baez argued.

For his part, Juan Antonio Camiñas, a retired researcher from the IEO, indicated that "the conservation of the Alboran species and ecosystems, based on the scientific knowledge accumulated for more than a hundred years and recorded in this book, is an asset that managers must exploit so that future generations are equipped in terms of integrated management and species conservation."

The work has 939 pages and 336 illustrations, and is divided into four parts. The first presents an overview of climatic, geological and oceanographic processes; the second develops the ecosystems and their biodiversity; the third provides an analysis of fishery and aquaculture resources and the fourth proposes conservation and management policies.