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RAPID ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF COASTAL HABITATS TO HELP PRIORITIZE THE SUITABLE NEW AREAS NEEDING A STATUS OF PROTECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NETWORK OF MARINE AND COASTAL PROTECTED AREAS IN MONTENEGRO
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Page 1: RAPID ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF COASTAL HABITATS TO HELP PRIORITIZE … · rapid assessment survey of coastal habitats to help prioritize the suitable new areas needing a status of protection

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RAPID ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF COASTAL HABITATS TO HELP PRIORITIZE THE SUITABLE NEW AREAS NEEDING A STATUS OF PROTECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NETWORK OF MARINE AND COASTAL PROTECTED

AREAS IN MONTENEGRO

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The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/MAP-RAC/SPA concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of UNEP/MAP-RAC/SPA.

Published by: RAC/SPA

Copyright: © 2014 - RAC/SPA

Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

For bibliographic purposes, this report should be quoted as:

RAC/SPA - UNEP/MAP, 2011. Rapid assessment survey of coastal habitats to help prioritize the suitable new areas needing a status of protection for the development of a network of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas in Montenegro. By Badalamenti F., Garcia Charton J.A., Treviño-Otón J., Mačić V., and Cebrian D. Ed. RAC/SPA - MedMPAnet Project, Tunis: 52 p + Annexes.

Layout: Tesnim AMRI, Asma KHERIJI and Zine El Abidine MAHJOUB.

Cover photo credit: Fabio BADALAMENTI.Photos credits: Fabio BADALAMENTI and Golder Associates.

This document has been elaborated within the framework of the Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs) Network through the boosting of Mediterranean MPAs Creation and Management (MedMPAnet Project).

The MedMPAnet Project is implemented in the framework of the UNEP/MAP-GEF MedPartnership, with the financial support of EC, AECID and FFEM.

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RAPID ASSESSMENT SURVEY OF COASTAL HABITATS TO HELP PRIORITIZE THE SUITABLE

NEW AREAS NEEDING A STATUS OF PROTECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF

A NETWORK OF MARINE AND COASTAL PROTECTED AREAS IN MONTENEGRO

Regional Project for the Development of a Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected

Areas (MPAs) Network through the boosting of MPA creation and management

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Study required and financed by:

Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex – Tunisia

In charge of the study :

Daniel CEBRIAN, SAP BIO Programme Officer, RAC/SPAAtef LIMAM, MedMPAnet Project, RAC/SPA

Scientific responsibles of the study :

Fabio BADALAMENTI, Jose Antonio GARCIA ChARTON and Jorge Treviňo OTóN

With the participation of :

Vesna MAčIć, Institute of Marine Biology of KotorDaniel CEBRIAN, SAP BIO Programme Officer, RAC/SPA

Reference of the study :

Contract N° 05/ MedMPAnet/2011

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................5

2. METHODS ....................................................................................................................................................7

2.1. Study Area.....................................................................................................................................7 2.2. Pre-survey....................................................................................................................................14 2.3. Assessment of the benthic assemblages......................................................................................15 2.4.Assessmentoffishassemblages................................................................................................16 2.5. Data analysis................................................................................................................................17

3. RESULTS.....................................................................................................................................................19

3.1. Assessment of benthic assemblages............................................................................................19 3.2.Assesmentoffishassemblages....................................................................................................33

4. DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................................................43

4.1. Assessment of the benthic assemblages......................................................................................43 4.2. Pinna nobilis ................................................................................................................................44 4.3.Assessmentoffishassemblages...................................................................................................44 4.4.Qualityoftheenvironment..........................................................................................................46 4.5.Mainhumanactivitiesandthreatstothecoastalandmarineenvironment.............................46

5. SUGGESTED SITES FOR PROTECTION...........................................................................................................49

6. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................51

ANNEXES

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© RAC/SPA, Golder Associates

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This report is part of the pilot activities for the on-site implementation of the project “Development ofa Mediterranean Marine and Coastal Protected Areas (MPAs)NetworkthroughtheboostingofMediterraneanMPAscreationandmanagementinareaswithinnationaljurisdiction of third countries”, with support to RAC/SPAby theECand theSpanishAgency for InternationalCooperationtoDevelopment,AECID.

Thereportincludesthefindingsofthreedifferentmarinebiodiversity survey missions to Montenegro carried out in 2008 (20-29 July 2008) principally in the northern coastof thecountry, in2011 (25October-03November2011)inthesoutherncoastandintheBayofKotor,andin 2012 (12 – 20 June) in the following selected sites: Bay ofBokaKotorska(o.Sv.ĐorđeandStrp),Mamulaislandand surroundings (o.Mamula and u. Ploča), island Sv.NikolainfrontofBudvatown(severallocationsincludingcapeMogren)andTraštebay(SekaKočište,KamenolomOblatnoandMaslinada).

The report includes the assessment of benthic and fish assemblages and of human activities along the

Montenegrin coast and is aimed at supporting thedefinition of specific protection/managementmeasuresfor the Montenegro coast.

Thereportincludestwoseriesofdata,oneonthebenthichabitatscollectedbyDrFabioBadalamentiandtheotheron the fish assemblages, collected by Dr Jose AntonioGarcíaChartonandMrJorgeTreviñoOtón.Notesonthehuman activities and related socio-economic aspectswere gathered by all the consultants.

Dataonbenthichabitatsfromthethreemissions(2008,2011 and 2012) weremerged, a common analysis wasperformed and a general discussion about the state of the benthic habitats provided.

Fish data from 2008, 2011 and 2012weremerged andanalysed to extract a general view of the status of fishpopulationsalongthecoastofMontenegro.

GPS coordinates and extension of the sites explored wereprovidedbyDrVesnaMačić,fromtheInstituteofMarine Biology in Kotor and Dr Daniel Cebrian from the UNEP/MAP-RAC/SPA.

1. INTRODUCTION

© RAC/SPA, Golder Associates

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© RAC/SPA, Golder Associates

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2.1. Study Area

The coast of Montenegro is small, with about 300 kmlong shoreline. This report covers the whole Montenegro coastline, from Mamula Island in the North, at theentranceoftheBayofKotor,toUlcinjintheSouthofthecountry. The report also includes a survey inside the Bay of Kotor. The coastal habitat of Montenegro is characterized bycalcareousrockyshoreswithsub-vertical (Fig.1)andvertical cliffs (Fig. 2) sloping abruptly down to 20-30mdepthonamosaicofgravel,sandandmud,intermingledwithgenerallysmallpebble/gravelbeachesorcreeks(Fig.3)withgentlerslopes.Twoexceptionsarethelargesandybeaches close to the border with Albania (Annex I; Fig. 21),theVelikaPlazasouthofUlcinj,andtheBayofKotor(AnnexI;Fig.32),whichisadistinctsystem.

Along the rocky shore the lowerpartof the infralittoralis often covered by well-preserved Posidonia oceanica meadows(Fig.4)withlowerlimitsfrom16(inthesouth)to 33 (in the north) m depth. The upper part of the infralittoral is rocky. Insomeareas thehabitatstructureis very complex (characterized by outcrops and large-sized boulders) (Fig. 5). Algal coverage is generally scanty because most of this zone is characterized by a coralline barren dominated by sea urchins and encrusting algae(Fig.6).

Areas with dense coverage of Cystoseira spp. or other brown algae are rare and generally located in the very upper infralittoral or in the infralittoral fringe whereCystoseira amentacea dominates the algal assemblage. The barren area (Fig. 7) extends on average from 0.5 to 10-12mdepth.OnlyatSekaAlbaneze,SekaKočišteandMamula Island does the barren area appear very small; the sea bottom is covered by algae, in particular bydifferentspeciesofCystoseira and Sargassum,andPadina pavonica (Fig.8).Anotherexception is theBayofKotor,wherethebarrenisabsent,possiblybecauseofalackoflarge rocky areas.Here, the upper infralittoral is rich inbrown algae.

The midlittoral was not investigated thoroughly duringourmissions.ItisoftencharacterizedbythepresenceofMytilusspp.(Fig.9),witharichassemblageofpredators,including the starfish Coscinasterias tenuispina and the mollusc Stramonita haemastoma (Fig. 10). Close to the surface, clear signs of biotope damaging owed todate-fishing (Lithophaga lithophaga) are present (Fig. 11). BetweenBar andUlcinj,mud is quiteoften foundatthebottomofthecliff,withtheremarkablepresenceof Axinella cfr cannabina (findingaalsocommon in theBoka Kotorska). The small bays and inlets are generally

dominated by P. oceanica and sand or gravel and pebbles closer to the surface. The small bays, such as those ofBudva,PetrovacandTrašte,aredominatedby P. oceanica and sand or gravel and pebbles closer to the surface.

The Bay of Kotor, Boka Kotorska, (Fig. 12), is a distinctsystem.TheBokaKotorskaisasemi-enclosedbay.Owingto its peculiar shape andorigin it is sometimesdefinedasthesouthernmostfjord.Sincethemiddleofthe20thcentury a number of researchers have begun to study its fauna and have contributed greatly to improving knowledge of the Boka Kotorska. The most extensive study isprobably thatbyStjpčevićandParenzan (1980)carried out in 1970.

General description of the Bay

TheseapassesthroughthestraitbetweenCapeOstro(RtOstro)andPuntaMiriste,firstenteringtheBayofHerceg-Novi(Hercegnovskizaliv)thenturningtowardstheeast,crossing a narrower channel (Kumborski tijesnac) thenwidening again into the Bay of Tivat (Tivatski zaliv). From here the sea heads north to the inner bays through the narrowVerigeStrait,wideningtothewest intheBayofRisan(Risanskizaliv)andtotheeast intheBayofKotor(Kotorski zaliv), which bends sharply while narrowingtowards the south.

Between the Verige Strait and Perast lie the two small islandsofSt.George(SvetiDjordje)andOur-Lady-of-the-Reef(GospaodSkrpjela).

ThedeepinletoftheBokaKotorskaisparticular,duetoitsgeographicalsituation,itsorographicalconfigurationandhydrographic characteristics, which influence the bioticandabioticfactors.Allofthisdeterminesaveryspecificphysiognomyduetotheenclosedwaters,whichpresentnotabledifferencestotheopensea.

Origin of the Bay

The first hypothesis regarding the origin of the BokaKotorska was that of Savicki (1924), who consideredthe morphological configuration to be of fluvial originandpointedout that the straits havefluvial forms. Theexistence of terraces along the straits suggest that a tectonic predisposition should not be excluded. Cvijic(1924) supported Savicki’s opinion and added that the VerigeStraitisanerosionpoint,asimilaronebeingpresentatCapoOstro.TheBayisacceptedtobeadrownedvalleyshapedduringthePlioceneperiodandcontinuedlaterbytectonic down-warping (Campanelli et al. 2011).

2. METHODS

© RAC/SPA, Golder Associates

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Hydrographic conditions

Five small watercourses are present in the Boka Kotorska area:Škurda,Ljuta,Širokarijeka,GradiosnicaandSutorina.Thewholeareaisalsocharacterizedbykarsticriversandunderwatersprings,whichinfluencetemperature,salinityandspeciesdistribution.

Thelargerwatercourses,coastalandunderwatersources/springsarepresentmostlyintheBaysofKotorandRisan.Alltherivers,streamsandtorrentsoriginateintheLovcenandOrjenmountainranges,wheretherearevastareasofkarst which take in water in the rainy season and feed the underground water system.

From November to April, when precipitation is higher,theseasurfaceoftheBaysofKotorandRisan,especiallyclose to Orahovac andMorinj, shows very low salinity.Precipitation in the Boka Kotorska reaches a maximumof 5480 mm due to the enormous mass of freshwater flowing into thebasinofRisan,which is relatively smallandclosed(StjepcevicandParenzan,1980).Precipitationvariesgreatlythroughouttheyear.Aftertherainyseason,thereisaperiodofsummerdrought,withnorainfallfor

3-4 months (July-September).

Throughout the year there is wide variation in surfacewater temperature in the Bay of Kotor. The mean maximum temperature is in July (26.9° C) and the minimum inFebruary (8.3 °C). Mean seafloor temperatures rangedfrom19.5°Cto14.4°C(StjepcevicandParenzan,1980).

Salinity

The lowest level of salinity, 26.27 ppm, is found in theBayofRisanat11mdepth.This lowvalue is influencedbythegreatinflowfromunderwaterfreshwatersources/springs. The highest level of salinity is 39 ppm in the Bay ofKotor(StjepcevicandParenzan,1980).

Benthic assemblages along the slopes

The megafaunal benthic assemblages within the first20 metres depth are characterized by the presence of massive cnidarian with madrepores (notably Cladocora caespitosa) and gorgonians (Leptogorgia cfr sarmentosa and Savalia savaglia) and sponge (Axynellaspp.,Geodia cydonium, Aplysina aerophoba) assemblages (Fig. 13 a-h).

Figure 1: Calcareous rocky shores are one of the most common Montenegrin coastal habitats (Mendra)

Figure2:CalcareousverticalcliffsareoneofthecommonMontenegrincoastalhabitats(Valdanos)

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Figure3:Smallpebble/gravelbeachesareanothertypicalhabitatoftheMontenegrincoast(stariUlcinj)

Figure4:ThelowerpartoftheinfralittoralalongtherockyshoreisoftencoveredbywellpreservedPosidonia oceanicameadowswithlowerlimitsfrom16to33mdepth(Rep)

Figure 5: In some areas the habitat structure is very complex (characterized by outcrops and large-sized boulders (ObalaStraiUlcinj)

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Figure6:Algalcoverageintheinfralittoralisgenerallyscantybecausemostofthiszoneischaracterizedbyacorallinebarrendominatedbyseaurchinsandencrustingalgae

Figure7:TypicalbarrenareaatRep

Figure8:IntheopenseaatSekaAlbanezethebarrenareaisverysmallandtheseabottomiscoveredbyalgae,inparticularbydifferentspeciesofCystoseira, Sargassum and Padina pavonica

a b

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Figure9:Themidlittoralcouldnotbeinvestigatedthoroughlyduringourmission.Itisoftencharacterized by the presence of Mytilus spp.

Figure 10: Coscinasterias tenuispina,acommonpredatorofMytilidae

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Figure12:BayofKotor,closetoDražinVrt

Figure11:Closetothesurface,clearsignsofdate-fishingarepresent

a b

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Figure13:a)Madrepores,Cladocora caespitosa,b)andgorgonians,Leptogorgia cfr sarmentosa c) and Savalia savagliad),Parazoanthus axinellae e) and sponge Axynella cfr cannabinaf),Geodia cydoniumg),

Aplysina aerophoba h) characterize the mega benthic assemblages in the surveyed sites of Kotor Bay

a b

g

e f

dc

h

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2.2. Pre-survey

Pre-survey activities mainly consisted of gatheringinformation on the area, in particular on the benthicandfishassemblagesandthehumanactivitiesalongtheMontenegrincoastandtheBayofKotorand,duringthesecond and third mission, reviewing the work carriedout during the previous missions. Some important references were found in the Kotor Marine Laboratorylibrary, others were gathered after meeting with localexperts from the Laboratory or from the literature.FollowingtheindicationsprovidedbytheRAC/SPAcontractandthesuggestionsoftheKotorresearchersthefollowingsites were chosen to carry out the surveys; 12 sites were surveyed both in 2008 and 2012 and 11 in 2011 (Table 1).

In2008atDražinVrt,intheBayofKotor,onlyaqualitative

surveywas carried out due to the shortage of time. In2011atO.Sv.Đorđeonlyaqualitativesurveywascarriedout. This was because Cladocora caespitosa reefs had been reported in this site but we found none.

In2012atislandSv.ĐorđeandStrpintheBaysofKotorandRisanandŠkolj (offshoreof islandSv.Nikola)onlyaqualitativesurveywascarriedout.InthesiteatKotorBay,becausedivingwasaimedatconfirmingtheobservationmadein2011andtocollectphotos,školjwasaqualitativereplicate of island Sv. Nicola. Kamenolom Oblatno andMaslinada were used to describe the Pinna nobilis populationofTrašteBay.

Alltheothersurveysincludedaquantitativeassessmentof the benthic and fish assemblages. A list of themostfrequentandabundantbenthicspecieswasalsocollected,togetherwithphotographicdocumentation.

Table 1: Sites surveyed in Montenegro coast in 2008, 2011 and 2012

20082008200820082008200820082008200820082008200820112011201120112011201120112011201120112011201220122012201220122012201220122012201220122012

N42°29’0.56’’N42°09’7.67’’N42°10’3.68’’N42°11’3.35’’N42°16’2.38’’N42°23’8.20’’N42°22’4.89’’N42°18’4.99’’N42°16’0.67’’N42°19’1.23’’N42°16’4.49’’N42°17’6.21’’N42°29’00.6’’N42°29’45.3’’N41°59’30.8’’N42°29’07.1’’N41°59’29.2’’N41°55’50.3’’N41°58’47.7’’N41°56’59.8’’N41°58’37.2’’N42°19’41.6’’N41°57’36.2’’N42°29’07.0’’N42°30’17.1’’N42°23’38.5’’N42°25’01.6’’N42°15’35.7’’N42°15’36.9’’N42°15’37.8’’N42°15’43.7’’N42°21’59.8’’N42°22’31.7’’N42°22’41.6’’N42°16’26.2’’

E18°44’55.81’’E18°59’04.17’’E18°57’51.90’’E18°56’05.04’’E18°45’35.31’’E18°33’32.24’’E18°36’00.57’’E18°43’47.52’’E18°46’41.85’’E18°41’58.32’’E18°46’10.81’’E18°44’55.81’’E18°42’54.3’’E18°41’25.5’’E19°08’29.5’’E18°41’27.8’’E19°08’28.3’’E19°11’04.4’’E19°08’26.4’’E19°08’56.9’’E19°08’20.6’’E18°41’58.8’’E19°09’20.8’’E18°41’28.4’’E18°40’24.4’’E18°33’31.7’’E18°32’53.3’’E18°51’21.6’’E18°51’31.8’’E18°51’11.7’’E18°51’01.3’’E18°39’54.2’’E18°39’21.1’’E18°41’17.2’’E18°49’47.4’’

1. Drazin Vrt 2.DubovacCliff3. Formica islets 4.Katicislets5. Mala Krekavica 6.Mamula7.PosejdonovGrad8.RtKostovica9.RtPlatamuni10. Seka Albaneze 11.SvetiNikola12. Velika Krekavica 13.DražinVrt14. Iza Perasta15.O.StariUlcinj16.O.Sv.Đorđe17.ObalaStariUlcinj18.Opaljike19.RtKruče20.RtMendra21.RtRep22. Seka Albaneze23. Valdanos24.O.Sv.Đorđe25. Strp26.O.Mamula27.U.Ploča28.O.Sv.Nikola(west)29.O.Sv.Nikola(east)30. Hrid Galiola (o. Sv. Nikola west)31.Školj(o.Sv.Nikolawest)32.SekaKočište33.KamenolomOblatno34. Maslinada35.RtMogren

Site Latitude Longitude Year of mission

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2.3. Assessment of the benthic assemblages

Theaimofthistaskwastoreportinformationonthemostimportantbenthicassemblages,includingalistofdominantmega-fauna and mega-flora species and on the habitatstructureoftheinfralittoralzoneoftheselectedsites.

A protocol for data collection by SCUBA diving was finalized before starting the field activities (Annex 3). We decided to collect data along replicated (generally three per site) 10 m wide transects running perpendicular to the coast from the foot of the cliff up to the infralittoral fringe. Typically a transect ran from 20-25 m up to 0.5-2 m depth.

The following 23 benthic assemblages were selected a priori and mapped as percentage of cover within each transect:

1.Barren=encrustingcorallinealgaeandseaurchinsArbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus2. Boulders_barren = same as above plus large boulders 3. Caulerpa racemosa assemblage4. Cladocora caespitosa reefs = Cladocora caespitosa assemblage5.Coralligenousassemblages=LargebouldersandverticalwallswithdominanceofHalimeda tuna, Parazoanthus

axinellae and sponges 6.Infralittoralalgalturfassemblages7.Infralittoralgravelassemblages8.Infralittoralmudassemblages9.Infralittoralmudandgravelassemblages10.Infralittoralpebbleassemblages11.Infralittoralsandassemblages12.LargespongeassemblagewithGeodia,AplysinaandPetrosia13. Mussel bed assemblage14. Photophilic algae assemblage with Cystoseira spp. and Halopteris spp.15. Photophilic algae assemblage with Cystoseira spp.16.Photophilicalgaeassemblagewith Padina pavonica17. Posidonia oceanica 18.RubbleandturfassemblagewithCodium sp.19.Sciaphilicalgaeassemblagesonhardsubstrata=RockysubstratesdominatedbyCodium bursa and Flabellia

petiolata 20.Sciaphilicalgaeassemblagesonhardvertical/subverticalsubstratawithFlabellia petiolata and Halimeda tuna21. Sciaphilic algae assemblages on hard substrata with Flabellia petiolata and Peyssonnelia spp.22. Submerged canyon 23. Submerged caves

Tofacilitategraphicvisualization,theseassemblageswerereduced to the following 10:

•Barren,includingassemblages1and2;

•Coralligenousincludingassemblages4,5,12and23;

•Musselbed;

•Pebbles;

•Photophilicalgae,includingassemblages3and14-16;

•Posidonia;

•RubbleandturfwithCodium sp. ;

•Sciaphilicalgaeincludingassemblages19-22;

•Softbottom,includingassemblages7-11;

•Turf.

Pie charts were drawn for those 10 assemblages and non MetricMultidimensionalScaling(nMDS)calculated.

The following variables were collected while diving and reported on pre-constructed polyamide sheets: habitat complexity, depth and sea bottom slope, percentagecover of the most important assemblages and list of species. From land, the position of each transect (GPScoordinates), the existence of human activities, thegeological nature and slope of the coast were recorded. Complexitywasvisuallyestimatedbyassigningdifferentpartsoftransectswithavalueof1to4,where1=low;2= medium; 3 = high and 4 = very high complexity. During thefirstsurveyin2008.nodatawerecollectedfromthemidlittoralbecauseofpoorweatherconditionsandroughsea surface. For the next two surveys is decided to avoid more detailed survey of midlittoral in order to providemore compatible methodology and data compatibilitywiththeprevioussurvey.Also,wehadideatofinishmoredifficultandmoreexpensivesurveyofthedeeperareas,considering that possible future survey of midlittoralcould be easier to organize and to perform.

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2.3.1. Assessment of Pinna nobilis

Pinna nobilis is the largest bivalve mollusc of the Mediterranean Sea, with records of individuals largerthan 100 cm maximum shell length measured from the apex. It isendemictothisseaandinhabitssubtidalsoftbottoms, mainly Posidonia oceanica and Cymodocea nodosa meadows, sand, mud, biodetritic and maërlbeds.Large-sizedpopulationsofPinna nobilis have been spottedinthebayofTrašte.ItwasdecidedtodedicateadayintheareatolocatingatleasttwoofthesespotsandperformingaquantitativeassessmentofthisthreatenedspecieslistedinAnnexIIoftheSPA/BDProtocol.

2.4.Assessmentoffishassemblages

Underwatervisualcensus(UVC)techniqueisastandardisedmethod,notdestructiveandperformedbySCUBAdiving,that allow to collect data on fish richness, size structureand density data of fish assemblage. This method wasused at the three campaigns in Montenegro with the aim toestimaterockyreeffishassemblages.28ofthetotalsitesselectedwerequantitativelysurveyed,beingSekaAlbanezedonetwice(2008and2011)(Table2),whileaqualitativeobservationwasdoneintheothersites.

Table 2. List of sites surveyed each campaign grouped, by proximity, on zones within localities.

EasternGrbalj

WesternGrbalj

Krekavica

KaticIslets

Dubovica

Perast

WesternGrbaljStariUlcinj

Rep

Ulcinj

Mamula

TrasteSvetiNikola

RatPlatamuniSv. Nikola

Seka AlbanezeRatKostovica

Velika KrekavicaMala Krekavica

KaticIs.Sv.NedjeljaDubovacCliff

Formika Is.

Drazin Vrtiza Perasta

Seka AlbanezeStariUlcinjIs.o.StariUlcinj

rt KrucertRep

Valdanosrt MendraOpaljike

Mamula Is.Ploca

Seka KocisteNikola EastNikola WestHrid Galiola

SkoljMogren

PLATAMUNI

PETROVAC

KOTOR

PLATAMUNIULCINJ

MAMULA

PLATAMUNI

Year Locality Zone Site

2008

2011

2012

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Underwatervisualcensus(UVC)techniquewasusedateach site in three replicates of transects 50 x 5 m.

Measuringtapeof50mlengthwaslayedonseabottom,parallel to the coast line and trying to keep an average depthof15m.Observationsalongthe50mlenthand5mwide transects were recorded in situ on a underwater-notebook estimating the size (in classes of 2 cm) andabundanceofallspeciesdetected.Eachfishobservationwas assigned to one of the nine predetermined abundance classes (1, 2-5, 6-10, 11-30, 31-50, 51-100,101-200, 201-500, >500), the limits of which matchup the terms of a base (approximately) 2 geometric series.Small-sized,crypticspecies(belongingtofamiliesGobiidae, Callyonimidae, Bleniidae, Gobioesocidaeand Tripterygidae) were excluded from the censuses to avoid biases due to inappropriate size of sampling unit. Censusesweredonebetween10and15h,whenwaterconditionswereoptimal.

Along with the census of fish assemblages, habitatcharacteristicswerealsostudied.Ineachtransect,valuesof the deepest and shallowest points were recorded. From these values, average depth and verticality (differencebetween maximum and minimum depth) were calculated. Substrate types were also recorded as the percentage cover of rockymatrix, Posidonia meadow, sand bed orpebbles at each 10 x 5 m segment inside each transect. Surveyswerefollowedbyashortbriefingwerealldiverscommenttheirsobservationstocompletethespecieslist.

2.5. Data analysis

2.5.1. Benthic assemblages

Each transect was divided a posteriori into Units. A Unit was selected according to one of the following two criteria: a)changeinthedominantassemblageand/orb)abruptchange in the slope (> 15°). Each Unit included one ormore patches of the assemblages selected a priori. Units were named using the name of the dominant assemblage followedbytheslopedegree(i.e.flat0°-10°,low10°-30°,moderate 30°-60°, high 60°-80° and vertical wall 80°-90°).Overall, a total of 115Unitwas possible from thecombinationofthe23assemblagesx5slopedegrees.

Total and average number of Units per site, averagenumber of assemblages per Unit, average habitatcomplexity per site and the overall frequency ofoccurrence of assemblage per site were calculated.

The length of each unit was calculated a posteriori according to its depth range and slope. By summing the length of each unit the total length of each transect was calculated, and bymultiplying length bywidth the unitand the overall transect surface area were obtained. From the percentage cover of each assemblage recorded within Units the surface area of each assemblage per transect was calculated and was then standardized as percentage cover of the whole transect.

Amatrix, sitesper assemblages,was constructedandanMDSwascalculatedontheBray-Curtissimilaritymatrixof untransformed data.

2.5.1.1 Pinna nobilis

Stripe sampling was used to assess Pinna nobilis density at two sites selected within Trašte Bay: Kamenolom Oblatno and Maslinada. Four 10 x 50 transect werecarriedoutatKamenolomOblatnoandoneatMaslinada.Individuals observed within thetransects were counted andmeasured.Unburied length (UL)andcorrespondingminimum width (w) of individuals were measured underwater (Figure 14). Maximum shell length (Ht) of each Pinna nobiliswasestimatedusingtheequation(Ht=UL+1.79w+0.5).

2.5.2. Fish assemblages

Data from the three campaigns were merged in order to evaluate globally the spatial variation of fish assemblagesalong the coast of Montenegro. To this aim sites surveyed weregroupedbyproximityinzonesand,equally,zoneswereorganizedinfivelocalities(Table2).BeingoneofthemtheKotor bay, with peculiar characteristics and four localitiesplacedoutsidethebay,fromsouthtonorth,Ulcinj,Petrovac,Platamuni and Mamula. For data analysis geometric mean of eachfishabundanceclasswereextracted.Threeparameterswere used to evaluate the community structure, speciesrichness and total and “reduced” abundance. Being the“reduced” abundance the total abundance excluding allpelagic and shoaling species occupying the water column and those species particularly cryptic or hidden, becausethey could not be accurately censused in a multi-speciesvisual survey. We also examined differences at individualspecies but only on those non-pelagic taxa sufficientlypresentthroughoutthestudy,establishingthethresholdonspecieswithafrequencyofoccurrence≥30%.

Figure 14: Standard measurements in Pinna nobilis individuals

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AthreefactornestedPERMANOVA(sitesnestedinzonesandzonesinlocalities)wasdonetoevaluatedifferencesfromsmalltolargescale(consideringthefactorLocalityandasfixed).PERMANOVAanalysesweredonewiththeentire community, with the three parameters obtained(species richness and total and “reduce” abundance)and individually with those species with a frequencyof occurrence ≥ 30%. PERMANOVA analyses were alsocompleted with habitats variables in order to compare themwiththoseobtainedwithfishpopulation.

As a multivariate approach to evaluate the differencesat community level between siteswe performed, usingtransformed abundance data (log x + 1), a nonMetricMultidimensionalScaling(nMDS)basedontheBray-Curtissimilarity matrix and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We did the analysis with the entire communityand repeated it with a “reduced” one after removingthe shoaling and very abundant species which resulted determinantinthefirstordination.WecompletedtheseanalysesusingPRIMERv6.

Figure 15:Map of theMontenegro coast and of the study sites. Numbers 1- to 13 refer to the first survey,numbers14to25tothesecondsurveyandnumbers26to37tothethirdsurvey.

1Mamula,2PosejdonovGrad,3RtPlatamuni,4SvetiNikola,5Katičislets,6Dokovaseka,7Formicaislets,8DubovacCliff,9SekaAlbaneze,10RtKostovica,11MalaKrekavica,12VelikaKrekavica,13DražinVrt,14Opaljike,15rtMendra,16rtRep,17Valdanos,18o.StariUlcinj,19RtKruče,20obalaStariUlcinj,21SekaAlbaneze,22DražinVrt,23DražinVrt,24O.Sv.Đorđe,25izaPerasta,26O.Sv.Đorđe,27Strp,28O.Mamula,29u.Ploča,30O.Sv.Nikola(west),31O.Sv.Nikola(east),32hridGaliola(O.Sv.Nikolawest),33školj(O.Sv.Nikolawest),34SekaKočište,35KamenolomOblatno,36Maslinada,37RtMogren.

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3.1. Assessment of benthic assemblages

Thecoastsurveyedismainlycomposedofverticalorsub-verticalcalcareouscliffs.Someofthesitesaresmallisletsoroutcrops(e.g.Katičislet,O.StariUlcinj,SvetiNikola,etc.)andintwocasesoffshorereefswerealsosurveyed(SekaAlbaneze and SekaKočište) (Table 3). Landuse inthe area surveyed is moderate (Table 3) but expansion of tourism is very likely in the whole area. Overall, 80quantitative transectswereexplored in the sites visitedand 70 Units identified (Table 3). Some further sites,(e.g.DražinVrt,Školj,O.Sv.Đorđe,Strp)wereexploredqualitatively.

Open sea sites

Katićisletswasthesitewiththehighestnumberofunits(13), while Opaljike and Posejdonov Grad, showed thelowest (4 units) values (Table 3). The average number of Units per site ranged between 8.00 (Mendra) and 2.50 (PosejdonovGrad).Thenumberofassemblagespersitevaried between the maximum recorded at Hrid Galiola (13) and the minimum recorded at Opalijke (5). Theaverage number of assemblages per Unit varied between 3.38 (Seka Kočište) and 1.20 at Mala Krekavica (Table3). Average habitat complexity was between 2.94 (RtKostovica)and1.30(Opaljike)(Table3).

Boka Kotorska

Twoquantitativesurveys,DražinVrtandIzaPerasta,andthreequalitativeoneswere carriedoutwithin theBaysofKotorandRisan. Overall,6unitswerefoundatbothDražinVrt and IzaPerasta,withanaverageof 5.33and4.33 units per site respectively. The total number of

assemblagespersitewasthesameatDražinVrtandIzaPerasta,buttheaveragenumberofassemblagesperunitwashigheratIzaPerasta(2.08)thanatDražinVrt(1.71).Average complexity showed the opposite trend (Table 3).

Overall,Barren,Posidonia oceanica,SoftbottomsandTurfwere the dominant assemblages along the Montenegrin coasts, both as percentage cover and frequency ofoccurrence (Table 4 and 5 and Figure 3-4). Barren resulted theassemblagewiththehighestfrequencyofoccurrencein thearea (89%) followedbyTurf and theSoftbottomassemblages (86%)andPosidonia oceanica (82%) (Table4and5).Theassemblageswiththelowestfrequencyofoccurrence in the area was Cladocora caespitosa (4%)(Table 4 and 5).

In terms of % cover, Barren assemblages (i.e. Barren +Boulders_Barren)weredominantin11sites,withvaluesranging between 24,3% and 61,8% (Barren only in 6 inthecompletelistofassemblages),Posidonia oceanica in 8sites,withvaluesrangingbetween29,6%and64,2%(11sitesinthecompletelistofassemblages)andsoftbottomsin5sites,withvaluesrangingbetween27,6%and95,0%(Table4and5;Fig.16a-c).

Coralligenous assemblages were important within the Bay of Kotor (14,3%atDražinVrt and 12,7%at Iza Perasta)and,notably,waspresentalsoinHridGaliola,MogrenandSekaKočištebutwithlowerpercentages(Table4;Fig.16a-c).RubbleandTurfwithCodium(28,1%atDražinVrtand19,9%atIzaPerasta)resultedexclusiveoftheBayofKotor.The complex of Sciaphilic algae reaches higher values at Seka Kočište (58,1%)while Photophilic algae reacheshigher values at Mamula (60,5%) and Seka Albaneze II(45,2%).TurfisthemostimportantassemblageatVelikaKrekavica(33,3%)(Fig.16a-c)

3. RESULTS

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Table 3: Main characteristics of the sites studied.

Table 4: Percentage contribution of different assemblages to sites.

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Table 5: Percentage contribution of the reduced number of assemblages to sites.

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Figu

re16(a):Pe

rcen

tagecoverofthe

10«red

uced

»assemblagesin

thesurveyed

sites

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Figu

re16(b):Pe

rcen

tagecoverofthe

10«red

uced

»assemblagesin

thesurveyed

sites

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Figu

re16(c):Percentagecovero

fthe

10«red

uced

»assemblagesin

thesurveyed

sites

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The nMDS segregated sites characterized by important coverage of soft bottom assemblages such as DražinVrtandIzaPerastainsideKotorBay,andOpaljikeintheopensea,fromthosecharacterizedbyalargeproportionof Posidonia oceanica, such as Katić islets, Obala StariUlcinj,RepandSvNikola(Budva)inshoreandoffshore,orbyPhotophilic algal assemblages suchusMamula, SekaAlbanezeII and Seka Kočište (Fig. 17 a-m). Kruče, MalaKrekavica,RatPatamuni,StariUlcinjandothersshowedlarge percentages of Barren and Mussel beds, whileMendra added Turf assemblages to the two previous ones (Fig.17a,cand l).Valdanoshadaheterogeneousand balanced mixture of all the main assemblages. Coralligenous assemblages were almost exclusive to sites in Kotor Bay (Fig. 17 b). Coralligenous in Boca Kotorska wasfoundinitsbestformatDražinVrtbetween12and30m depth (Fig. 18).

Largecoloniesof Parazoanthus axinellae started at about 12mdepth, covering isolatedboulderson the seawardsideofeachboulder(Fig.18).Deeper,downtoabout17mdepth,isolatedcoloniesofLeptogorgia cfr tormentosa,Savalia savaglia,P. axinellae and large-sized sponges were found. These isolated colonies were followed by massive colonies of Cladocora caespitosa down to about 30 m depth. Colonies were spherical or egg-shaped. Lengthrangedfrom0.5to8m,widthwasbetween0.5and3mand height reached 3 m. Between C. caespistosacolonies,very large colonies of S. savaglia were found with L. cfr tormentosaintermingledbetweenthem.Ontheseawardsurface of C. caespitosa, colonies of P. axinellae and several large-sized sponges were found, together withascidians. Both isolated and massive colonies were close to freshwater springs (Fig. 18).

Results showed quite clearly that sites inside the BocaKotorskaweredistinctfromtheothersbecauseofa)thelargepercentageofsoftbottomassemblagesandb)theexclusivenessofRubbleandTurfwithCodiumandc)theimportance of Coralligenous assemblages (Fig. 16 a-cand Fig. 17 b, g, i andm). Another two sites, ValdanosandOpaljikewerecharacterizedby largepercentagesofsoftbottomassemblages(Fig.16b-c),bothclosetothe

southernmost part of the country (Fig. 15) and are linked. ThisdistributionisduetotheeffectsoftheBojanariver.Posidonia oceanica resulted the most important feature ofKaticIslet,RepandSvNikola(Budva) inshore(Fig.16a-c and Fig. 17 f and m). P. oceanica was important also at Seka AlbaneseII, Seka Kočište and Mamula, where,however, the best conserved algal, Photophilic andSciaphilic, assemblages in the country were found (Fig.16a-candFig.17e,handm)andatObalaStariUlcinj,wherecoralligenousassemblagesare important (Fig.16b)andHridGaliola,MamulaII,Sv.Nikola(Budva)InshoreandUvalla Ploča,where softbottomassemblageswerealsoimportant(Fig.16a-candFig.17i).

All the other sites were strongly characterized by a large proportionofbarren(Fig.16a-candFig.17aandm).Thepossible causes of the extensive presence of barren (i.e. overfishingwiththeuseofexplosivesanddateharvesting)arediscussedinthenextsection.

Finally, it is worth noting that mussel beds were moredevelopedinthesouthernsites,fromObalaStariUlcinjtoOpaljike(Fig.16a-candFig.17c).

As far as species distribution is concerned,Ophidiaster ophidianus was almost absent from the southern sites. Instead, large-sized Axinella cfr cannabina were found there, in particular at the foot of the cliffs, and theinfralittoral fringewasdominatedbymusselbedswhichextended, in some cases, down to 2.5 m depth. Pinna nobilis is abundant in the north at Trašte Bay.

Overall,119differenttaxa,includinginvertebrates,algaeand phanerogames, were identified underwater at theinvestigatedsites(Annex2).

Assessment of Pinna nobilis

Datafromtwosites(KamenolomOblatnoandMaslinada) were merged for this analysis. Overall, 63 individualswere found within the 6 transects, with an average of2,13 (±0.95) individuals/100 m2. Average length of the shell(Ht)was54,42cm(±7,21).NosignificantdifferenceswerefoundintheHtamongthe6transects(F5,58=1,29;P=0,28).

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Figure17(a-b):nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperassemblagesmatrix.TheBray-Curtissimilarityindexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportional

to the importance of the assemblage at each site.

b

a

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Figure17(c-d):nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperassemblagesmatrix.TheBray-Curtissimilarityindexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportional

to the importance of the assemblage at each site.

c

d

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Figure17(e-f):nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperassemblagesmatrix.TheBray-Curtissimilarityindexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportional

to the importance of the assemblage at each site.

e

f

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Figure17(g-h):nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperassemblagesmatrix.TheBray-Curtissimilarityindexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportional

to the importance of the assemblage at each site.

h

g

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Figure17(i-l):nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperassemblagesmatrix.TheBray-Curtissimilarityindexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportional

to the importance of the assemblage at each site.

i

l

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Figure 17 (m): nMDS constructed on the sites per assemblages matrix. The length of the blue line represents the degreeofcorrelationoftheinvestigatedsiteswiththeten“reduced”assemblages.TheBray-Curtissimilarity

indexofuntransformeddatawasusedtoperformtheanalysis.Bubblesizeisproportionalto the importance of the assemblage at each site.

m

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Figure18:SchematicmapoftheDražinVrtarea,illustratingthespeciescontributingtotheCoralligenousassemblage.Size of Cladocora caespitosa,maincurrents,depth,freshwatersprings,slopesteepness

(mod=moderate,high=high,vhigh=veryhigh)arereported.

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3.2.Assesmentoffishassemblages

Habitat data

Despite ofwe selected15meters asworkdepth, coastcharacteristics made difficult to complete all transectswithin this depth, ranging the transect depth from 5,8to19,3meters,beingtheaveragedepthofall transects13,88 meters. In the same way habitat heterogeneitymade hard to keep a constant depth obtaining values of verticalityvaryingfrom2to8,7meters(Table6).

Habitat complexity values, explained by the number ofboulders(mainlymediumandlargeblocks),variedfromsites with low complexity like those inside the Kotor bay to highcomplexsiteslikeSv.NikolaorMalaKrekavica(Table6).

RockymatrixwasthepredominanthabitatinthetransectssurveyedwiththeexceptionoftheKaticIsletszone(KaticIs.AndSv.Nedjelja),DubovacCliffandthecoastneartheislandsofMamula(Ploca)andStariUlcinj(O.StariUlcinj)were Posidonia oceanica was dominant, and the Kotorbay,wheresandyandmuddybottomsweretheprincipalhabitat(Table6).

Table6Meandepth(m),meanverticality(m),numberofsmall,mediumandlargebouldersandaveragepercentagecover of rocky matrix, Posidonia oceanica, sand andpebblesassociatedtofishassemblagesvisualcensuses.

RatPlatamuniSv. NikolaSeka AlbanezeRatKostovicaVelika KrekavicaMala KrekavicaKaticIs.Sv.NedjeljaDubovacCliffFormika Is.Drazin VrtIza PerastaSeka AlbanezeStariUlcinjIs.O.StariUlcinjRtKruceRtRepValdanosRtMendraOpaljikeMamula Is.PlocaSeka KocisteNikola EastNikola WestHrid GaliolaSkoljMogren

Site Mean depth Verticality Small Medium Large %Rock %Posid %Sand %Pebbles

Table 6: Mean depth (m), mean verticality (m), number of small, medium and large boulders and average percentage cover of rocky matrix, Posidonia oceanica, sand and pebbles associated to fish assemblages visual censuses

0,0 0,00,0 0,03,3 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,01,7 0,023,3 0,044,726,085,314,72,0 0,01,3 0,06,7 0,08,7 0,028,7 0,00,0 6,06,0 0,028,0 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,04,7 0,00,0 0,00,0 0,09,3 0,08,0 0,04,7 0,0

86,7 13,3100,0 0,075,0 21,783,3 16,796,7 3,3100,0 0,030,0 70,038,3 61,736,7 63,360,0 16,729,3 0,00,0 0,064,7 33,376,7 22,045,3 48,066,0 25,348,7 22,785,3 8,793,7 0,372,0 0,098,0 2,046,7 53,376,0 19,389,3 10,788,0 12,087,3 3,360,7 31,371,3 24,0

24,0 13,322,0 20,76,0 6,316,3 10,020,0 9,721,7 16,716,7 12,712,3 15,312,0 8,017,7 12,07,7 3,31,0 0,06,7 7,020,7 14,319,3 13,319,0 12,39,7 7,323,0 13,718,7 8,020,3 13,011,0 9,08,0 5,016,7 5,712,7 4,322,7 9,39,7 8,312,7 10,322,0 11,3

4,3 64,08,7 59,36,0 18,34,3 61,07,0 51,74,3 61,32,7 37,38,0 39,35,0 37,33,3 50,74,0 28,03,3 32,04,7 18,04,0 46,03,3 27,34,2 40,32,7 48,72,5 64,02,7 83,02,0 34,04,7 40,04,7 24,33,3 24,04,3 81,04,7 94,75,7 66,34,7 28,74,7 25,0

16,819,015,010,816,817,816,710,715,513,317,710,319,315,711,014,816,78,19,75,814,311,015,77,514,016,513,714,3

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AstheKotorbaywasclearlydifferentfromtherestofthesites surveyed the two sites placed inside the bay were excluded from data analysis.

PERMANOVAanalysispresenteddifferences in thehabitatcharacteristicsatLocalitylevelandatSmallscale,whiletherewerenotsignificantdifferencesatZonescale.Pair-wisetestshowedthatthesedissimilaritieswerepresentsbetweenalllocalitieswiththeexceptionofMamula(Table7).

PCA plot displayed similar results to those obtained in PERMANOVA analysis (Fig. 19). The first two axes of theordinationexplainedthe53,2%ofthevariabilityobtained,dividing the graph into three parts. Above were the sites with sandy bottoms, mainly represented by the Ulcinjlocality. At the right side of the plot were placed the sites of Petrovac locality with high percentages of P. oceanica. Finally,attheleftbottomwerefoundthedeepesttransectswith high complexity represented by the Platamuni locality.

P(perm)

0,01170,37830,0001

Pseudo-F

2,38931,07743,073

MS

33,07514,19413,0524,2473

SS

99,22599,357182,73225,11616

df

37145377

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

P(perm)

0,010,04420,34350,04380,33130,205

t

1,9467 1,5892 1,063 1,7168 1,2934 1,3084

PetrovacUlcinjMamulaUlcinjMamulaMamula

Pair-wise test

PlatamuniPlatamuniPlatamuniPetrovacPetrovacUlcinj

Table 7: Habitat PERMANOVA analyses results and Pair-wise test between localities. Significant F-values and corresponding P-values are indicated in bold.

Fish assemblages

In total, 41 species were detected along the threecampaigns in the visual censuses of fish assemblages.Labrids with 12 and sparids with 11 were the familieswith more number of species followed by serranids with 6(Table8).Therestoffamilieswererepresentedbyjustone species with the exception of centracanthids andscorpaenids with two. Trigla lucerna was not localized during the realization of the censuses but detected byother divers in the course of the dives and thus were not taken into account for the analysis.

None of the 41 species were detected at all the transects done. Coris julis, Chromis chromis and Serranus cabrilla werethespeciesmorefrequentlyfounded.Ontheotherhand, 25 species did not reach the 30% of presence,beingexcluded fromsubsequentanalysis. Someof theseomitted species were common Mediterranean speciesthat due to its low density in the zone were not present in a high number of transects (Table 8), however theywere frequently detected during the dives. Thiswas the

case for example of Diplodus sargus and Sarpa salpa,twofrequentlysparidsfoundintheMediterranean,whichdidnot appear in the transects of the 2012 campaign (Table 8).

The three species more abundant were the shoaling species Chromis chromis, Boops boops and Spicara smariswith223,8ind., 135,5 ind. and 56,1 individuals 250m-2 respectively.Excluding these three shoaling species Coris julis appeared tobethemoreabundantspecieswith28,2ind/250m2. Far from this species but also abundant we found Symphodus ocellatus, Oblada melanura, Serranus cabrilla, Diplodus vulgaris and Diplodus annularis (Annex 5).

Species richness per site ranged from 8 species censused atizaPerastato30inRatKostovicawithanaveragevalueof18,39speciesobservedpersite.Regardingthetotaland“reduced”abundancewefoundmediumvaluesof487,3and67,5individuals250m-2respectivelyvaryingbetween2369,6ind./250m2atSekaAlbanezeto84,7ind./250m2 at IzaPerastafortotalabundanceandfrom145,3ind./250m2 inOpaljiketoaminimumof22,6ind./250m2inKaticIs.for“reduced”abundance(Annex5).

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Figure19:PCAordinationplotoftransectswithinlocalities.PC1:32,3%PC2:20,9%

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Table 8: Percentage frequency of occurrence of the fish species observed in the quantitative assessment. Present/absent table of fish species at each campaign and locality.

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Table 9: a) b) PERMANOVA analyses results and Pair-wise test between localities for the entire community (a) and for richness, total abundance and “reduced” abundance (b). Significant F-values and corresponding P-values are indicated in bold.

P(perm)

0,0260,02130,0002

Pseudo-F

1,99591,5541

1,7995

MS

4292,82252,41436,9

798,46

SS

1287815766201164231891601

df

37145377

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

P(perm)

0,07670,17850,61260,01410,33530,1233

t

1,48541,22780,882562,11572,06061,38

PetrovacUlcinjMamulaUlcinjMamulaMamula

Pair-wise test

PlatamuniPlatamuniPlatamuniPetrovacPetrovacUlcinj

P(perm)

0,09490,14980,234

Pseudo-F

3,33921,84521,2845

MS

64,26620,33610,9268,5058

SS

257,06142,35163,89484,831017,6

df

47155783

Richness

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

P(perm)

0,15070,89080,0106

Pseudo-F

3,12140,345592,4759

MS

9,84E+052,72E+057,90E+053,19E+05

SS

3,94E+061,91E+061,18E+071,82E+073,74E+07

df

47155783

Total abundance

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

P(perm)

0,15160,43150,0533

Pseudo-F

2,18671,04921,8237

MS

5015,223352209,61211,6

SS

200611634533144690631,38E+05

df

47155783

Reduced abundance

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

Source

a)

b)

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PERMANOVA analysis completed with the entirecommunity revealed high variability at site and zone levelswhileatthelocalitylevelwejustfounddifferencesbetween the localities of Petrovac and Ulcinj (Table9a). These resultsmatchwith the nMDS plot obtained,however this nMDS graph must be read carefully because of its high stress (Fig. 20).

PERMANOVAanalysiswereperformedalsoon“reduced”fish community, were all pelagic, shoaling and crypticspecies were removed. Results of that analysis almostmatch with previous one, presenting significantdifferences at locality level just between Petrovac and

Ulcinjandhighvariabilityatthesmallerscales(Table10).

With respect to the PERMANOVA analysis done toevaluatethedifferencesinabundance,totaland“reduce”,andthoseinthespeciesrichness,wedidnotdistinguishsignificantresultsatlocalitylevel.Wejustfoundmeaningchanges at site level in the total abundance (Table 9b). WhenwecheckedthePERMANOVAbysinglespecieswemetsignificantresultsatlocalitylevelonlyforSymphodus mediterraneus and differences at zone level forMullus surmuletus and Serranus cabrilla. Other five speciesshoweddifferencesjustatsmallscale(Table11).

Figure20:nMDSplotoftheentirecommunity

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P(perm)

0,02450,04540,0001

Pseudo-F

1,99591,55411,7995

MS

4273,22240,81527,1807,09

SS

1281915685213794277693017

df

37145377

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))ResTotal

P(perm)

0,08490,080,76990,0130,33190,0684

t

1,40851,44470,732062,12011,55191,4994

PetrovacUlcinjMamulaUlcinjMamulaMamula

Pair-wise test

PlatamuniPlatamuniPlatamuniPetrovacPetrovacUlcinj

P(perm)

0,17440,62060,0018

Pseudo-F

1,98490,752333,1337

MS

11054,90272,34923,088

Pseudo-F

3,88050,218522,8392

MS

3,12E+05613772,83E+0599847

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))Res

P(perm)

0,09630,96260,0057

P(perm)

P(perm)0,15940,01720,042

Pseudo-F

2,20224,95261,9016

MS

109,0554,39310,8375,6988

Pseudo-F

0,5555311,3340,36408

MS

23,24346,2264,032611,076

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))Res

P(perm)

0,70130,00070,9826

P(perm)

0,03610,96470,0044

Pseudo-F

18,9210,136162,5321

MS

52,5281,75213,2455,231

Pseudo-F

0,836611,55283,2155

MS

42,66553,78234,22310,643

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))Res

P(perm)

0,53930,19580,0016

C. chromis D. vulgaris

M. surmulletus S. cabrilla

S. cantharus S. mediterraneus

Table 10. PERMANOVA analyses results and Pair-wise test between localities for the “reduced” community. Significant F-values and corresponding P-values are indicated in bold.

Table 11. PERMANOVA analyses results for the species with significant differences. Significant F-values and corresponding P-values are indicated in bold.

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SIMPERanalysisdonewiththeentirecommunityshowedanimportantinfluenceofshoalingandpelagicspeciesonthenMDSordinationduetoitshighabundance,thereforea“reduced”fishcommunitywereusedinasecondSIMPERanalysisinordertoavoidtheinfluenceofthesespecies.

This second SIMPER analysis determined six species asthe responsible of the dissimilarities between sites. D.

vulgaris, D. sargus and S. cabrilla were present mainly in the southern locality (Ulcinj) with shallower depth androcky bottom. Similarly C. jullis and S. ocellatus prefer rockybottomsbutweremorefrequentsatPlatamuni.

Finally,D. annularis prefers habitats with more occurrence of sand and P. oceanica (Fig. 21).

P(perm)

0,13940,06030,046

Pseudo-F

2,94492,55651,859

MS

4510,11649,7637,7343,04

Pseudo-F

0,134591,34862,8408

MS

2,020815,67711,4964,0468

Source

LocalityZone(Locality)Site(Zone(Locality))Res

P(perm)

0,96610,2920,0022

S. tinca C. julis

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S. tinca C. julis

Figure21:(a-c)nMDSbubbleplotsconstructedonthesitesperfishassemblagesmatrix.Bubblesizeisproportionaltotheimportanceofthespeciesateachsite.

Numbersinthebubblerepresentsthelocality.1:Platamuni,2:Petrovac,3:Ulcinj,4:Mamula

a

b

c

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Figure21: (d-f)nMDSbubbleplots constructedon the sitesperfishassemblagesmatrix.Bubblesizeisproportionaltotheimportanceofthespeciesateachsite.

Numbersinthebubblerepresentsthelocality.1:Platamuni,2:Petrovac,3:Ulcinj,4:Mamula

d

e

f

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4.1. Assessment of the benthic assemblages

The benthic assemblages surveyed along the coast of MontenegroarediverseandtypicaloftheinfralittoralofMediterraneanhardandsoftsubstrates,withthenotableexceptionofthoseintheBayofKotor,whichrepresentaunicum. All the assemblages seem to be in a good state of health, with the exception of the upper infralittoralin theoffshore sites,where thedate fishery,when andwherepractised,hasprovokedaprofoundchangeinboththe physical structure of the substrate and the biological compositionofthebenthiccommunities.

Dates are collected once the rock has been demolished mechanically. This kind of destructive fishery increasesthe amount of stone blocks, gravel and sand at thebottomof thecliffand triggersachange in thestateofthesystemfromforestedtobarren.Thisaction,coupledwith overfishing, which dramatically reduces the sizeand number of predatory fish, is at the base of theproliferationofbarrenhabitatsdominatedbyseaurchinsin shallow Montenegrin waters. Indeed, fishing withexplosivesisaplagueforMontenegro,andhasledtotheimpoverishmentofpredatorfishassemblages.

The barren stable state characterises the upper rocky infralittoralatallthesitesoftheopenseavisitedexceptMamula, Seka Albaneze and Seka Kočište. Some of theareassurveyedweretheobjectofstudybyalgologistsinpastdecades (ŜpanandAntroliċ 1983),who reportedaluxuriantalgalcanopywithseveralspecies,brownalgaeinparticular.Seaurchingrazinghasledtothedisappearanceof photophilic algal assemblages from a large part of the Montenegrincoast.Thesehavenowbeensubstitutedbya coralline barren area.

Seka Albaneze showed Cystoseira assemblages flourishing,althoughinthefirstsurveyaseaurchinfrontand a vast barren area were reported. It is beyond the scope of this report to comment on the cause of the expansion ofthebarrenareas.However,itisworthhighlightingthecomplexityofthemechanismsregulatingthepresenceofalternativestablestatessuchas theCystoseira kelp and thebarrens.Amongtheothercauses,atrophiccascadecould be invoked to explain the phenomenon. The decrease innumber, after intensivefishing,of large seaurchinpredators,suchasanumberofseabreamspecies,mayleadtotheexplosionofgrazersandtoaconsequentreduction in the algal canopy. According to thismodel,

followingprotectionthedominanceofseaurchinsshouldcometoanendbecausefishabundanceandsizeincreaseshould lead to algal assemblage recovery. In the case of Seka Albanese, the reduction in barren area between2008and2011seemstobetheresultofastorm,ratherthanofpredation,whichsweptmostoftheurchinsawayfrom the reef.

In the south of the country, the lower infralittoral isdominatedbysoftbottoms,sandandmud.SouthofCapeMendraatOpalijke,finesandassemblagesstartatabout5-6mdepth and include someCymodocea nodosa and a few rocky outcrops with Posidonia oceanica. Sand is mixedwithmudaround20mdepth.Similarly,atValdanos,northofCapeMendra,softbottoms-mainlymud,startatabout12-14mdepth. Incontrast,CapeMendra isarockypromontory.Thegreaterfrequencyofsoftbottomsin the south of the country is very likely to correlate to thenearnessoftheBojanaRiverdelta.Atthebaseofthecliffsatdepthsofbetween16and20mcoloniesoflargesized Axinella cfr cannabina are very common. In this partof thecountry,at suchdepths,water transparencyisreducedandacloudofmudisoftenobservedclosetotheclifffoot.AlsointhiscasethereisthepossibleeffectoftheBojanariver.

Verywell preserved,Posidonia oceanica beds dominate thelowerinfralittoralinmostoftheothersites,togetherwithpristinesciaphilicassemblages,where theslopeorthe complexity of the substratum is high.

Algal turf was important in Mendra. This may be the consequenceofhighslopeandrunofffromdatefishing.

The infralittoral fringe is often characterised by brownalga Cystoseira amentacea.However, turfdominatesonverticalwallsand,inthesouthernmostsite,thefringeisdominatedbymusselbeds,insomecasesdownto2.5mdepth.

InsideBocaKotorskaatDražinVrtandStrpaCoralligenousassemblage was found between 12 and 30 m depth. At Dražin Vrt, impressive Cladocora coespitosa reefs were present and were associated with a rich assemblage of large-sized sponges and cnidarians, notably massivecolonies of the false black coral, Savalia savaglia, the gorgonian Leptogorgia cfr sarmentosa and the yellow cluster anemone Parazoanthus axinellae. In the other two sites investigated no such large reefs were found, onlysmallcolonies.AtIzaPerasta,brownalgaecharacterizedthefirstfewmetresandlargespongeswerecommonatgreaterdepths,notablyGeodia cydonium.

4. DISCUSSION

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AtStrp,aCoralligenousassemblagewasfoundfrom12to24 metres. From 12 m depth large blocks were found with large-sized Axinella cfr cannabina on top and massive colonies of Parazoanthus axinellae on the sides of the blocks facing offshore (See Annex I). Intermingled withthe P. axinellae colonies large ascidians (Microcosmus sp.) and other suspension feeders were found (namely small Cladocora caespitosa, Balanofillia sp.,etc.).Deeper,a gravel assemblage was found, with several smallfreshwatersprings.Closetoeachspring,asobservedatDražniVrt,largecoloniesofSavalia savagliawerefound,apparentlyemergingfromthesoftbottom.However,itismorelikelythatthesewereattachedtoahardsubstratebefore being covered by sediment (See Annex I). Colonies were as large as 1 m2,withoutotherimportantassociatedmegabenthic species, the exception being some areaswhere very large (12-15 cm) Mytilus galloprovincialis were associated. Most of the S. savaglia colonies were not fan-shaped but prostrate, forming an irregular,tridimensional, globule-like structure. Where Savalia colonies were found, Leptogorgia cfr sarmentosa was alsopresent,butatafewmetresdistance.L. sarmentosa colonies were large, up to half a square metre. Whitecolonies of S. savaglia were also found,with the sameecological features. At the other qualitatively surveyedsiteofSvetiDjordje,severalbrokenpiecesofC. caespitosa werefound,togetherwithlarge-sizedsponges.

Massive C. caespitosa reefs were reported in the bay in the 1970 study. Stjpčević and Parenzan (1980) report atotalsurfaceareaof1985000m2fortheCladocorareef,correspondingto0.08%ofthesurfaceareaofthetwobays(24.7 km2).Thesamestudyreportedaverywidedistributionof CladocoraintheKotorandRisanBays(Table11).

In our survey inside the Bay we did not find acorrespondence with the data shown by Stjpčevićand Parenzan. It remains to be established whether this difference is due to a) inaccurate estimations inthe 1970 survey, when diving technologies were lesssophisticated, b) mechanical damage caused by fishinggears,aquaculturedevelopment,anchoringandmooringactivities,increasedshippingtrafficoracombinationofallof these factors.

4.2. Pinna nobilis

Even though the data gathered are preliminary, theobserved mean density of individuals (2,13/100 m2) shows a density similar to that reported for some Marine ReservesofthewesternMediterranean(e.g.1Individual/100 m2 for Port Cross; 1,5 Individual /100 m2 for Columbretesandtherangefrom0to3.5individuals/100m2 for Scandola). Density is rather lower compared to the AdriaticpopulationofthenearbyNationalParkofMljet,wheredensitiesrangebetween2to20individuals/100m2. Considering that the area investigated is not protected,this result is very encouraging and the Bay of Trašte is a goodcandidatefortheprotectionofthespecies.

4.3.Assessmentoffishassemblages

Regarding the abundance data we distinguisheddifferences between total and “reduced” abundances.While total abundance, more variable and linked toshoalingspecies,issimilartothosefoundinotherworks,the“reduced”abundance is lowerthan inotherstudies(Table13).This“reduced”abundanceisformedmostlybysedentaryspecies,whichweremoreaffectedbyharmfulpractices.Itisalsoremarkablethelowabundanceandsizeof species with high commercial value (Epinephelusspp.,Diplodus spp., Sparus aurata , Dentex dentex). However if we pay attention to richness data (12,7 species/250m2) we observe that this richness is similar to others reached in comparable studies along the Mediterranean. García-Chartonobserved 15 species/250m2 on average (García-Charton et al.2004)andTreviño-Otón&García-Charton (unpublished data) detected 15,1 species/250m2.Thisshowsthatspeciesappearbutitsfrequencyandabundance is clearly under its charge capacity.

Linked to this approximation it is also remarkable thehomogeneityexhibitedbyfishpopulationincomparisonto that presented by habitat characteristics. Habitatcomplexity is determinant in the definition of fishcommunities (García-Charton & Pérez-Ruzafa 1998 and2001),thusitwillbeexpectablethatlocalitieswithhighcomplexity, like several sites at Platamuni and Petrovaclocalities,showhigherabundancesthantheonesfound.This homogeneity could be explained by the fact that Montenegrin coast is under important impact levels throughoverfishingandharmfulfishingpractices(Fig.22).

Dynamitefishinganddatemusselextractionareextendedactivities all along the coast (Mačić, unpublished data).Duringourworkwewereabletorecordbothactivitiesaswe felt several underwater dynamite blasts while diving and we found date mussel in the menu of a restaurant inKotor.Duetotheseuncontrolledfishingactivitiesfishassemblages are clearly below the carrying capacity of thelocalitiessurveyed.ThezonesproposedasMPAhavepotential for housing bigger populations because of itshigh habitat complexity and satisfactory fish speciesrichness but it is necessary to implement protectionmeasuresinordertorecoverfishabundance.

Figure22:Signsofdynamitefishingwererepeatedlyobservedduringoursurvey.Inthispicture,adeadfish

ontheseabottom,andscavengers.

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Red. Abundance(ind. 250 m-2)

370.6

95.9

186.6

72.3

132.0

110.9

67.5

Total abundance(ind. 250 m-2)

1451.3

818.8

618.6

91.2

446.2

427.9

487.3

Original size of sampling unit (m2)

40

125

250

100

125

250

78,5

250

Area

Otranto(Apuliancoast,southernAdriatic)

4 loc. along the Apulian coast

3 unprotected areas in western Mediterranean (Aguilas,IslaGrosa,Mallorca)

SouthernGulfofTrieste,northernAdriatic

Outer,unprotectedpartof6MPAsinwesternMediterranean

Unprotected zone Cabo de Palos – Islas Hormigas MPA (Spain)

Galiinariaisland,westernLiguriansea(Italy)(12-16meters depth)

Montenegro

Reference

Guidetti(2000)Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 50: 515-529

Guidettiet al. (2002)Mar. Environ. Res. 53: 77-94

García-Charton et al. (2004)Mar.Biol.144:161-182

Bonaca&Lipej(2005)Mar. Ecol.26:42-53

Harmelin-Vivien et al. (2008)Biol. Conserv. 141: 1829-1839

Treviño-Otón&García-Charton unpublished data (2009)

LaMesa et al. (2010)Italian Journal of Zoology, iFirst,1–14

This study (2008 - 2012)

Table 13: Summary of values of mean total and ‘reduced’ abundance per 250 m2 reported by other authors and the present study, referring exclusively to rocky photophilous bottoms. The size of the sampling units originally used in the different studies is also indicated.

Length

1 km -5 km300 m800 m1 km

Location

PerasttochurchofBanjaBetweenthe2islands&theopeningofVerigeStraitPerasttoOrahovacFromLjutasouthwards,smallareasinfrontofPjerovici&TomiciInfrontofGlavatiBetweenStrp&Zopat

Map ref.

abcdef

Table 12: Distribution of Cladocora after Stjpčević and Parenzan 1980

Size m2

120 0001.500 000 200 000 45 000 40 000 80 000

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4.4. Quality of the environment

Basedonobservationsmadeduringthesurvey,thequalityof the environment along the Montenegrin coast appears verygood,theexceptionbeingthoseareaswheretouristactivities are over-developed (Fig. 23). Rocky areas (inparticularverticalcliffs)seemtobeinexcellentconditionand inland the only concern is from Mediterranean maquis fires (Fig. 24). Underwater, the number of fishspecies recorded is similar to that of other areas of the Mediterranean, but abundance and size resulted verylow; this is likely tobea resultof intensivefishingwithexplosives. For example, few, and generally small-sized,groupers were observed during our dives. The shallow andlowexposedsmallpebble/sandybeachesandcreeksseemtobeanimportantnurseryforfish.

4.5.Mainhumanactivitiesandthreatstothe coastal and marine environment

Fishing, and to amuch greater extent, tourism, are thetwo main human activities along the coast. No othersizeableindustriesarepresent.Pollutionfromuntreatedsewage may be a problem in the near future following the development of tourist infrastructure and the general increase in human pressure along the coast. The dumping ofsolidwasteorsoilfromtheroadandotherconstructionswillbeaseriousproblemifthenegativeeffectsonmarinelifeareunderestimated,especiallyintheBayofKotor.

Tourism

Threats are due to the rapid expansion of tourism and the future plans for tourism infrastructure (the sale of land seemstobeveryactiveandstillinprogress).Nosewagetreatment seems to take place at present but some are planned.New infrastructure (hotels,marinas, roadsetc.)arelikelytoincreasedramatically.Beach-basedandnauticaltourismseemtobethetargetactivitiesatpresentandalldevelopmentappearstobeinthatdirection.Thethreat from diving is not important at this stage as diver numbersarelow.Nearlymost, ifnotall,ofthebeachesandcreeksareoccupiedby touristactivities,whilecliffsandrockycoastsaremostlystillintact.AsaManagementPlan from the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment exist for the Montenegrin coast it would be important for future action in the coast to recall and follow asappropriate this Plan.

Fisheries

Four main fisheries are located along the coast (Bar,Petrovac, Buda and Herceg Novi). About 17 trawlersof small/medium size operate. Small-scale fishing ispractised by many individuals all along the coast. Themain gears include nets, trammel-nets, pots/traps andlong-lines.Official statisticson the structureoffisheriesand catches will be available from a report expected by September 2012.

Figure 23: The quality of the environment along theMontenegrincoastappearsverygood,theexceptionbeingthoseareaswheretouristactivitiesareoverdeveloped.

Figure24:Rockyareas(inparticularverticalcliffs)seemtobeinexcellentcondition.Inland,theonlyconcernisfrom

Mediterraneanmaquisfires.

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Theimpactoflegalfishingdoesnotappeartobesevere(fewunitswereseenfishingduringourmission),butthereal problem is the practice of fishing with explosivesandother illegal typologiesoffishing. This seems tobecommonandfrequentallalongthecoastofMontenegro.In three out of the eight places visited we found proof of this practice (dead fishes - often partially consumed byscavengers,orfishespresentinginjuries).

Others sources

Otherimpactsmaybeaconsequenceofuntreatedsoliddomestic waste - see, for example, the dumping areaclosetoOpaljike(Fig.25),quarries-see,forexample,theoneclosetoStariUlcinj(Fig.26),andminingactivities.

Figure25:UntreatedsoliddomesticwastenearOpaljike

Figure26:QuarryclosetoStariUlcinj

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During our threemissions inMontenegro,we collectedquantitativedata, consulted the available literature andreports and talked to colleagues and local people. But,more importantly, we spent roughly 30 days along theMontenegrincoastsandunderwater,anditismostlythisdirectsourceofinformationthathelpedustoreachourconclusions.

Our suggestion is that there are threemain areas thatdeserve prioritary protection, namely Katič, PlatamuniandStariUlcinj. Theyhavepotential forhousingbiggerfishpopulationsbecauseoftheirhighhabitatcomplexityandsatisfactoryfishspeciesrichness,butitisnecessarytoimplementprotectionmeasures involvingestablishmentofno-takeareasandbufferzonesinordertorecoverfishabundance at least in these sectors of the Montenegrin coast.

Threefurtherareasdeserveprotectionformorespecificreasons,twoofthemlocatedinsidetheBayofKotorandanother one in the bay of Trašte. These areas should be designatedasmicroreserves,muchsmallerthanthethreeMPAspreviously identified,andaimedattheprotectionof the coralligenous assemblages of the Bay of Kotor and of Pinna nobilis in the Bay of Trašte.

Suitable areas for establishing Marine Protected Areas

Petrovac - Katič

Wesuggest including theareabetweenRtSkočidevojkaandDubovica,fromthecoasttoadepthofabout50m,asthewholeareadeservesprotection.Here,wesuggestgivingthehigheststatusofprotectiontothesmallislets,sv Nedelia and Katič and the surrounding areas - theoutcrop of Formica and Dubrovica. It could be reasonable toextendtheMPAsouthwardtoincludeRtPečinandRtCrni,highlightedasimportantareastobeprotectedinareport of the Italian company SGI.

Platamuni and adjacent reefs

We suggest including the area between the Seka Albaneze andRtPlatamuni,fromthecoasttoadepthofabout50m,asthewholeareadeservesprotection.Here,wesuggestgiving the highest level of protection to the outcrop ofthe Seka Albaneze and the surrounding areas. We suggest extending theMPA to includeRt Kostovica towards the

south,andatleastoneKmofcoasttothenorthofSekaAlbaneze.WerecommendgivingahighprotectionstatusalsototheSekaKočištetowardsthenorth,intheGulfofTrašte,andtotheoffshorepartofSvNikolasouthwards,in the Gulf of Budva.

Ulcinj

WesuggestincludingtheareabetweenObalaStariUlcinj,fromthecoasttoadepthofabout35-40m,asthewholearea deserves protection. Here, we suggest giving thehighest status of protection to the area between KručeandRep.

Suitable areas for establishing Micro reserves

Boka Kotorska

We suggest the areas close to Drazni vrt and Strp in the BayofKotorandRisanassuitablemicroreservestoprotectthe Coralligenous assemblages found and described in these areas. What is important here is to protect a small partofthecoast(roughly600mforthecoreareaplusabufferareaof300matthetwosides)downto30m,inparticulartopreventmechanicaldamagetothestructure,dumpingofwasteorconstructiondebris,entanglementoffishinggearsandanysourceoforganicpollution.Scubadivingshouldberegulatedandthecollectionoforganismsstrictly prohibited.

Trašte Bay

Thisareaislikelytobeaffectedbytourismdevelopment,including the construction of marinas and a sewageoutfall.However,theBayhostsanimpressivePinna nobilis population.Wesuggestprotectingtwosites(KamenolomOblatno andMaslinada) in the Bay by establishing twomicroreserves aimed at safeguarding the Pinna nobilis population.TheprotectionofKamenolomOblatnocouldbecombinedwiththatoftheSekaKočiste.Majorthreatsto Pinna nobilisincludemechanicaldamagetotheshell,dumpingofwasteorconstructiondebris,entanglementof fishing gears and any sourceof organic pollution.Allthese activities should be banned. Scuba diving shouldbe regulated and the collection of organisms strictlyprohibited.Wesuggestprotectingatleastoneofthetwosites surveyed, in an area no smaller than 100.000m2,centred on the site surveyed.

5. SUGGESTED SITES FOR PROTECTION

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Thereportincludesthefindingsofthreedifferentmarinebiodiversity survey missions to Montenegro carried out in 2008 (20-29 July 2008) principally in the northern and central coast of the country, in 2011 (25 October-03November 2011) in the southern coast and in the Bay ofKotor,and in2012 (12–20 June) in theBayofBokaKotorska, island Sv.Nikola (in frontofBudva town) andTrašte Bay.

Thereportincludestwoseriesofdata,oneonthebenthichabitats and other on the fish assemblages. Notes onthehumanactivitiesandrelatedsocio-economicaspectswere also included in the report. All available data were merged, analysed and a general discussion about thestate of the benthic habitats provided, together withsuggestionofsitesforprotection.

Conclusion of the report is that the benthic assemblages surveyed along the coast of Montenegro are diverse and typical of the infralittoral of Mediterranean hard andsoft substrates, with the notable exception of those intheBayofKotor,whichrepresentaunicum. Most of the assemblagesseemtobe inagoodstateofhealth,withthe exception of the upper infralittoral in the offshoresites, where the date fishery has provoked a profoundchange in both the physical structure of the substrate and the biological composition of the benthic communities.The barren stable state characterises the upper rocky infralittoralatallthesitesoftheopenseavisitedexceptMamula,SekaAlbanezeandSekaKočište.

Very well preserved Posidonia oceanica beds dominate the lower infralittoral inmostof thesurveyedsites,butalsosomelocationswithregresivechangesarenoted.

Inside Boka Kotorska at Dražin Vrt and Strp, impressiveCladocora coespitosa reefs were present and were associated with a rich assemblage of large-sized sponges

andcnidarians,notablymassivecoloniesofthefalseblackcoral,thegorgonianandtheyellowclusteranemone.

It was expectable that localities with high complexity,like several sites at Platamuni and Petrovac localities,show higher fish abundances than the ones found.This homogeneity could be explained by the fact that Montenegrin coast is under important impact of overfishingandharmfulfishingpractices(dynamitefishinganddatemusselextraction).Itisalsoremarkablethelowabundance and low size of species with high commercial value (Epinephelus spp., Diplodus spp., Sparus aurata, Dentex dentex).Howeverifwepayattentiontorichnessdata(12,7species/250m2) we observe that this richness is similar to others reached in comparable studies along theMediterranean.This shows that speciesappear,butitsfrequencyandabundanceisclearlyunderitscapacity.

Our suggestion is that there are three main areasthat deserve prioritary protection, namely Katič area,PlatamuniareaandStariUlcinjarea.Theyhavepotentialforhousingbiggerfishpopulationsbecauseoftheirhighhabitatcomplexityandsatisfactoryfishspeciesrichness,,but it is necessary to implement protection measuresinvolvingestablishmentofno-takeareasandbufferzonesinordertorecoverfishabundanceatleastinthesesectorsof the Montenegrin coast.

Threefurtherareasdeserveprotectionformorespecificreasons,twoofthemlocatedinsidetheBayofKotorandanother one in the bay of Trašte. These areas should be designated as micro reserves, much smaller thanthe threeMPAs previously identified, and aimed at theprotectionofthecoralligenousassemblagesoftheBayofKotor(DražinVrtandStrp)andofPinna nobilis in the Bay of Trašte.

6. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Annex I: Daily report

July 20-21, 2008

These first two days were spent meeting withrepresentatives of the Ministry of Tourism and theEnvironment (Ana Pajović) and of the Marine BiologyInstitute of Kotor (Vesna Mačić and Slavica Kašćelan).The meetings were aimed at gathering informationabout the status of the Montenegrin marine and coastal environmentandofitsprotectionandtodiscusspossiblesources of information/plans about the protection anddevelopment of marine and coastal areas and about fisheryactivitiesofthecountry(somedocumentsdoexistbutwerenotavailableatthetimeofthemeetings.Theywill be provided in the near future).

Finally,aprotocolofdatacollectionbySCUBAdivingwasfinalized.Itwasdecidedtocollectdataonfishassemblages(byUVC),onthestructureofthebenthichabitatsandofthe most important benthic habitat and species of the infralittoralzone.Datacollectionwastobecarriedouton100mlongtransectsrunningparalleltothecoastforfishand on transects perpendicular to the coast from 20-25 m depth up to 0-2 m depth for the benthos. It was decided to collect data from three transects for each of the sites inspected (generally two per day).

July 22, 2008

Diving atMamula Island and at Poseĵdonov Grad (Figs.1-2),closetothemouthofKotorBay.

July 23, 2008

Two diving sites were selected close to Stari Ulcinj, inthesouthof thecountry.However,due tobadweatherconditions it was not possible to dive. It is important

that the mission in September gathers data from the areabetweenValdanosbeachMendracape(Fig.3),andUlcinj(Fig.4).TheVelikaPlazasouthofUlcinj(Fig.5)isacrowded beach while the inland area (wetland) is already protected(thoughitsexactprotectionstatusneedstobechecked);nofurtherinvestigationseemsnecessaryalongthe beach due to massive tourism in the area.

Figure 1: Mamula Island

Figure2:PoseĵdonovGrad

Figure3:ValdanosbeachandRtMendra

ANNEXES

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Figure4:SurroundingsofUlcinj

July 24, 2008

DivingatRt(Cape)PlatamuniandSvetiNikolaislet(Figs.6-7).

Figure 5: The crowded beach of Velika Plaza

July 25, 2008

DivingatKatičislets(offPetrovac):SvetaNedjeljaandKatič(Fig.8)

Figure6:PlatamuniCape Figure7:SvetiNikolaislet

Figure8:Katičislets(offPetrovac):KatičontheleftandSvetaNedjeljaontheright

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Figure9:FormicaisletsclosetoRt(Cape)Dubovica

July 26, 2008

DivingatRt(Cape)DubovicaandFormicaisletsandStolacpoint(Dubovaccliff)(Figs.9-10)

Figure10:StolacCape(Dubovaccliff)

July 27, 2008

DivingatSekaAlbaneze(Figs.11-12)andRt(Cape)Kostovicacreek(Fig.13).

Figure 11: Seka Albaneze Figure 12: The coast surrounding the Seka Albaneze

Figure13:CreekandpebblebeachclosetoRt(Cape)Kostovica

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July 29, 2008DivingatKotorbay(DrazinVrt)(Figs.16-17).Inthisdivingsessiononlyqualitativedatawerecollected.

Figure16:KotorBay.DrazinVrtontheright Figure 17: Kotor Bay. Drazin Vrt.

Second mission

October 25, 2011

On the day of our arrival, we were welcomed in BarearlyinthemorningbyDr.VesnaMačićfromtheMarineBiologyInstituteofKotor.Aftercheckingintothehotelwespentthedaysettinguptheworkscheduleforthenexttwo weeks.

We decided to keep the protocol chosen in the previous campaign,threereplicatesof50x5mparalleltothecoast

for fish assemblage visual censuses, and perpendiculartransects to the coast from 0-2 m depth up to 20-25 m depthforthebenthos.Asinthefirstcampaignweplannedtwodiveseachday,correspondingwiththetwosites,andat each dive we performed three replicates.

October 26, 2011

Diving day at Opaljike and rtMendra (Figs. 18-19), thesouthernmostsitesofthestudy,nearthesmalltownofUlcinjandthedeltaoftheBojanariverrespectively.Thetwositeswereveryshallow(inparticular Opaljike)andseemedhighlyinfluencedbytheBojanariver.

Figure18:Opaljike Figure 19: rt Mendra

July 28, 2008

DivingatKrekavica(large&small):RtVelikaKrekavicaandu.MalaKrekavica(Figs.14-15).

Figure14:Krekavica:largeRtVKrekavica Figure 15: Krekavica: (small) Mala Krekavica

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October 27, 2011

Twomoresites,rtRepandValdanos,(Figs.20-21)wereinvestigatedundergoodseaconditions.Again,wedetectedtheinfluenceoftheBojanariver,withdepositsofmudandlowvisibility.

Figure20:rtRep Figure 21: Valdanos

October 28, 2011

Thisdaywesurveyedthesmallislandofo.StariUlcinjandasmallcapenearthesitessurveyedthepreviousday,rtKruče.(Figs.22-23).

Figure22:o.StariUlcinj Figure23:rtKruče

October 29, 2011

Onthisdayweonlyperformedonecensus,finishingthesurveyonsouthMontenegro.ThesiteselectedwasapartofthecoastinfrontoftheislandStariUlcinjsurveyedthepreviousday(obalaStariUlcinj,(Fig.24)).Here,asontheislandStariUlcinj,theinfluenceoftheBojanariverwasnotobserved.AfterthecensuswepackedandmovedtoKotor.

Figure24:obalaStariUlcinj

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October 30, 2011

OnthisdaywecensusedthelocalitySekaAlbaneze(Fig.25).Thispointwaspreviouslycensusedinthe2008campaign,butwewereinterestedinrepeatingthesurveytoevaluatepossibleshiftsinthecommunity.

October 31, 2011

ThiswasourfirstdayofdivinginsidetheKotorbay.Thelocationhadaparticularup-wellingoffreshwaterthatconferredspecialcharacteristicstothesite.

Figure 25: Seka Albaneze

Figure26:DražinVrt

November 1, 2011

OnthisdaywerepeatedthediveinDražinVrtinordertoevaluatethoroulythecoraligenousassemblagepresentatthislocation.AfterthisdivewedidashortdivearoundtheisletOstrvoSvetiĐorđe(Fig.27)locatedinthemouthofthebay,searchingforotherlocationswithcoraligenous.

Figure27:OstrvoSvetiĐorđe(islandStGeorge)

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November 2, 2011

Itwasourlastdivingdayofthepresentcampaign.WefinishedthecensusinsidetheKotorbay,divinginIzaPerasta(Fig.28).Again,ourobjectivewastofindnewplaceswiththespectacularcoraligenousassemblagefoundatDražinVrt.

Figure 28: Iza Perasta

Third mission

June 12, 2012

Arrival from Bar to Kotor and discussion on planed activities. Considering that this was third field surveyinMontenegroorganizedbyRAC SPA, itwaspreviouslyagreed that methodology should have been be the same of the previous two surveys. Because of that, it wasconfirmed thatdata for thebenthicassemblageswouldbe collected along 10m wide transects perpendicular to thecoast,fromsurfacetoabout25mdepth.Dataonfishassemblages would be collected by means of underwater visual census technique along 100m long transectsrunningparalleltothecoast.Alsophotodocumentationwould be performed during all dives.

June 13, 2012

ThisfirstdaywasspentdivinginthebayofKotorlookingfor further sites with the coralligenous assemblage found intheOctober2011atDrazniVrt.Hence,Itwaschosentoperformrandomtrialsattwosites,insteadofquantitativetransects,inordertoexplorealargerareaateachoftheselected sites.

The first dive was at the St George island. The trialstarted on the eastern side of the islet and proceeded anticlockwise up to the channel between St GeorgeandOur Lady of the reef Islet. In one hour of trials nocoralligenous was found. The eastern side of St George appeared to be under the influence of a tidal currentfrom the boka. A strong current characterized this part oftheislet.Thefirst6metersweredominatedbybrownalgae,namelyCystoseira spp. and Sargassum sp. (Fig. 29). Deeper,asoftbottom,mainlyconstitutedbygravelwasfoundwithlittleblocksintermingled.Megabenthoswasrare and mainly represented by sponges and some small colonial organism. No Cladocora caespitosa was found in this area.On the southern part of the islet a similarcondition was found. Here, the assemblage of largebrownalgaeisabsentandit issubstitutedbyaturfand

some sciofilous algae. Notably a very large amount ofwastes was found down to 10 m (Fig. 30). Deeper gravel dominates. No corallignous was found but numerous small colonies of Cladocora caespitosa were present in the entire area explored and the spongeAxinella cfr cannabinawasfrequent.

Second dive was at Strp. The random trial started at the easternendofthevillageandproceededeastward.Here,from 12 to 24 meters a Coralligenous assemblage was found. From12m, depth large blockswere foundwithlarge sized Axinella cfr cannabina on top and massive colonies of Parazoanthus axinellae on the side of the blocks facing offshore (Fig. 31). Intermingled with theP. axinellae colonies large ascidians (Microcosmus sp.) and other suspension feeders were found (namely small Cladocora caespitosa, Balanofilliasp.,etc.).

Deeper,agravelassemblagewasfoundwithseveralsmallfreshwatersprings.Closetotheeachspring,asobservedatDražniVrt,largecoloniesof Savalia savaglia werefound,poppingoutapparentlyfromthesoftbottom,butmorelikelytheywerebeforeattachedtoanhardsubstratethencovered by the sediment (Fig. 32). Colonies were as large as1squaremwithoutotherrelevantmegabenthicspeciesassociated. The exception being some areas were verylarge 12-15 cm Mytilus galloprovincialis were associated. Most of the S. savaglia colonies were not fan-shaped,rather they were prostrated and formed an irregular,tridimensional, globules-like structure. Where Savalia colonieswerefound,Leptogorgia cfr sarentosa was found as well but meters apart. L. sarmentosa colonies were large,uptohalfsquaremeter.Atthewesternendofthetrial,whitecoloniesofS. savaglia werefound,underthesame ecological features (Fig. 33).

Sponge assemblages was rich. The mixture of large blocks and Savalia + Leptogorgia colonieswas continue for atleast400malongthecoast.Theshallowerportionoftheexplored area was similar to Drazn Virt with large blocks brown algae and Codium sp.

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Figure 29: St George Island The first 6 meters weredominatedbybrownalgae,namelyCystoseira spp.

and Sargassum sp.

Figure 30: St George Island a very large amount of wastes was found down to 10 m

Figure31:Strp:from12m,depthlargeblockswerefoundwith large sized Axinella cfr cannabina on top and massive colonies of Parazoanthus axinellae on the side of the

blocksfacingoffshore

Figure 32: Strp, large colonies of Savalia savaglia were found,poppingoutapparentlyfromthesoftbottom,butmorelikelytheywerebeforeattachedtoanhardsubstrate

then covered by the sediment

Figure33:Strp,attheeasternendofthetrial,whitecoloniesofS. savaglia were found

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June 14, 2012

Mamulaisland(Fig.34)islocatedintheentrancetotheBokaKotorskaBayanditwasalsovisitedin2008survey,butatthattimeitwasnobetterexplored.BecauseofpossibleimportanceforthefutureactivitiesinthecreationofMPAinthissurveyitwasexploredbetter.Also,coastalareaclosetoMamula(UvallaPloča,Fig.35)islandwasexploredduringthe second dive of the day.

Figure 34: Mamula Island

June 15, 2012

OnthethirddaywestartedsurveyintheareaofislandSv.NikolaoffBudvatown(Fig.36-37).This islandwasneverbeforeincludedintherapidassessmentactivitiesandasweconcludedinprevioussurvey(October2011)thatthisareacouldbeofpotentialimportance,itwasapartofthisfieldsurvey.Twodiveswereperformedclosetothesouthpartoftheisland,onthewestandotherontheeasternpartoftheisland.

Figure35:UvalaPloča

Figure37:IslandSv.NikolaoffBudvatown,southtipFigure36:IslandSv.NikolaoffBudvatown,easternside

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June 16, 2012

WestsideofislandSv.Nikola(Fig.38)isnotsuitableforconstructionsonthecoastandregardingthatonthissideofislandtherearesomeinterestingsitesfordiversthisareawassurveyedbetter.FirstdivewasonGaliolaoutcropandsecondonškolj(Sv.Nikolawest).Firstdivewasindicatedasveryimportantforthebiodiversityandcomplexityofhabitats.

Figure38:IslandSv.NikolaoffBudvatown,westernside

June 17, 2012

Divers of Institute ofmarine biology and Italian SGI recorded, in Trašte bay, some locations very important for theprotected species Pinna nobilis, but no other surveys were performed in this area so fare. Because of that survey activitiesinthisprojectwereperformedinthisarea.Duringthedaythreedives,oneattheveryrichinbiodiversitySekaKočiste(Fig.39)andtheothertwoinareawherehighdensityofP. nobiliswerereported,wereperformedandonalllocationsveryhighdensityofthisprotectedspecieswererecorded(Figs.40-41).

In almost all the dives fruit of Posidonia oceanicawerefoundontheplant(Fig.42),andthousandswerefloatingaround.Seedswerecommonlyfoundontheseabottominalmostallthetransects.

Figure39:SekaKočisteisveryrichinbiodiversity Figure 40: High density of this protected species were recorded in Trašte bay

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Figure 41: High density of this protected species were recorded in Trašte bay

Figure 42: In almost all the dives fruits of Posidonia oceanica were found on the plant

June 18, 2012

LastdivewasatRtMogren(Figs.43-44),aninterestingspotveryclosetotheharborofBudva.Heredivingwasdisturbedbecauseweheardbyanunderwaterexplosion.Thisistheresultofillegalfishingwithexplosive,unfortunatelystillverycommon along the Montenegrin coasts.

Figure43:RtMogren Figure44:RtMogren

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Annex 2. List of species at the surveyed sites

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Annex 3. Form used to collect data from benthos

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Annex 4. Form used to collect data from fish assemblages by UVC

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Annex 5. Species abundance, mean abundance, total abundance and species richness 250 m-2 (± standard error of the mean, SEM) of the fish assemblage observed in each site in the quantitative assessment of the coast of Montenegro by visual census using SCUBA.

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Annex 6: Technical expertise transfer

Technical expertise transfer from Dr Badalamenti tothestaffof theMarineBiologyLaboratoryofKotorwasassured by the detailed discussion of all the plans for the survey of the benthic assemblages during the pre-survey.Beforedivestheprotocolsfordatacollectionwerediscussedandthelocalstaffprovidedwithalltherelevantinformationonthemethodologyinvolved.AllthematerialusedandthetechniquesinvolvedindatacollectionweremadecleartotheMarineLaboratoryofKotorstaff.OneresearcherfromtheLaboratorydivedwithDrBadalamentiand also collected alone data on the benthic assemblages and habitat structure. At the end of each dive the data gathered were discussed and comparisons made between theresultsobtainedbydifferentpeople.

Photographsandfilmstakenwereseenonthecomputerand themain specieswere identified in a participatoryfashion.Relevantreferenceswereprovidedandinsomecasespdffilesorpowerpointpresentationsweresupplied.References consisted of animal and plant identification,samplingdesign,habitatstructureandaspectsof socio-cultural and economic assessment of marine protected areas.Formalpresentationson:MPAdesignation,effectofprotectiononhumanactivities,effectsofhumanactivitiesonMPAs, specific samplingdesignanddataanalysis fordealing with conservation issues and marine protectedareaswereprovidedandpptpresentationsgiventotheaudience,togetherwiththerelevantliterature(aspdffile)citedduringpresentations.Someofthepapersprovided

werealsodiscussedaftertheendofthemission.

Technical expertise from Dr García-Charton and MrTreviño-OtóntotheMarineBiologyofKotorstaffconsistedfirstlyon,basedonknowledgeoflocalresearchersaboutthe geomorphological conformation of Montenegrincoast and rocky bottoms, discussing and designing apriori a sampling scheme able to capture the spatialvariabilityoffishassemblageswithvisualcensusesusingSCUBA.Samplingprocedureswereclearlydescribed,andrudimentsofvisualcensusestechniqueswereexplainedinordertobereproducibleinfurtherlocalinvestigations.Attheendofeachdive(assistedbyafieldtechnician),theobservationsoffishspeciesbyalldiversparticipating inthefieldtripswerereportedtocompletethequalitativepictureofthestudiedfishassemblage.

Whenpossible,photographsweretakenbythe“benthosteam”toconfirmspeciesidentifications.Discussionswerecontinuouslyopenedwithlocalresearchstaffinordertoexchange relevant information and opinions regardingthe adequacy and feasibility of possible managementmeasurestobeproposed,takentheecological,fisheries,social, and economic situation into account. Relevantreferences on fish visual census techniques, samplingdesign,compositionandstructureofMediterraneanfishassemblages,andecologicaleffectsofmarineprotectedareas,wereprovidedtolocalresearchstaff.

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Annex 7: Figures of surveyed site areas in the Montenegro coast and percentage of sea bottom composition

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Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA)

Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 - 1080 Tunis Cedex - TUNISIA Tel. : +216 71 206 649 / 485 / 765

Fax : +216 71 206 490 e-mail : [email protected]

www.rac-spa.org