Electro OS Does your Spanish house have rising damp? Are you about to buy a house in Spain and need it damp-proofed? For more information on Electro osmosis damp-proofing Please click on the logo above. If you have a damp problem you will be glad you did.
The negative side of buying property in Spain
Costa Tropical info
Greetings cards in Spain
If you need to send a greeting card and you can't find one in Spain Then order a quality hand made card from Squirrel cards
The Home Page
Visit HP today the ideal home page for you, with links to all your favorite sites.
EU-Properties
Buy or sell your Spanish home without the agents fees. Visit eu-properties.com today and save money or find a bargain property in Spain.
Free Web hosting
For info about free hosting providers and tips about getting your site indexed, need a free site What are you waiting for Visit a-free-site.com today
Have a laugh today
Visit Cunning Plan z and shoot a teletubby, read the joke of the day or see a funny video. Go on go on go ongo on. Also see the latest in green travel
Swapsey.com
Swap your unused or unwanted items with swapsey.com
or if your in Spain Swapsey.eu
Pre Mot
No matter whether you have an old banger or a three year old car you must have an MOT.Get a valuable insight into what is required of your vehicle for an MOT. Visit Pre-mot.com
But tourism is also causing environmental degradation through extensive development, added pressure to the coastal areas, and stress on the marine environment. The region, situated at the crossroads of Africa, Europe and Asia, has a high diversity of cultures, countries, political systems, and religions. It contains major population centers and industrial activities. Numerous fishing ports are dispersed along the Mediterranean coastline. For a historical perspective on fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea, see Caddy, 1993. Fisheries production has increased in many areas and is of major economic importance. Mariculture has increased production figures for mussels and oysters. Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment and eutrophication caused by runoff and polluted river discharges are a concern both for fisheries and tourism revenues.
Governance
Governance of the Mediterranean Sea LME involves a high number of countries (20 countries). They differ in their stage of economic and institutional development and in their capacity to address biodiversity issues in the context of sustainable development. The Mediterranean Sea LME was the first region to be addressed by UNEP’s Regional Seas Program in 1974. MEDPOL was a pollution monitoring and assessment program that was started in the mid-1970s. With GEF support, the Mediterranean countries are jointly addressing coastal and marine issues. GEF projects involve the conservation of wetlands and coastal ecosystems, and the building of country capacity. Mediterranean countries in a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) are analyzing factual and scientific information on transboundary concerns and their root causes, and they are setting priorities for action. They are determining national and regional policy, legal and institutional reforms and investments needed to address priorities within the LME. They have committed to pollution reduction for specific pollutants with specific timetables and targets. A Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for land based sources of marine pollution was adopted by all 20 countries under the Barcelona Convention. Future priorities are living resources and their critical habitats, with programs to be developed in conjunction with a review of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy. A greater coordination of scientific studies of fish resources and of the biological and oceanographic environment is necessary. Existing legislation pertaining to ecosystem management includes the Barcelona Convention (1976); the Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft; and the Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land Based sources (1996).
For more information on primary production and fisheries. |Technological improvements in the fishing fleet and increased fishing capabilities have resulted in a decline in the catch rate per boat. Fishing effort has increased in response to high fish prices. By the 1970s, a substantial portion of the less productive southern shelves was being harvested for demersal resources. This also involved distant-water trawlers, with the result that demersal resources were fished at close to maximum sustainable yield. In the Adriatic Sea, coastal pollution and eutrophication have been the principal factors driving change in fisheries yields. Fish kills have occurred in the northern Adriatic as a result of noxious phytoplankton blooms and anoxic conditions. For more information on demersal and pelagic fish and mollusks in the Adriatic, see Bombace, 1993. The University of British Columbia Fisheries Center has detailed fish catch statistics for this LME. A graphical representation is provided below. The FAO also has information on the decadal trend (1990-1999) for fisheries in this LME.

Fish and Fisheries
This is one of the most diverse and stable LMEs in terms of species groupings and their share in the total catch. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 10-year capture trend (1990-1999) shows stable catch trends in recent years, with a moderate increase in shelf catch, from under 1 million tons in 1990 to 1.1 million tons in 1999 (see FAO, 2003, figure 20). Clupeoids (herrings, sardines and anchovies) form the most important species group with 38% of catch. Miscellaneous coastal fishes account for 18% of the catch, and mollusks for 16%.

Major threats to the biodiversity of the region’s coastal and wetland ecosystems are: uncontrolled development, urbanization, and especially pollution from land-based sources such as industry, human sewage and agriculture, which enter the Mediterranean via runoff, discharge, and river transport. The atmosphere contributes nitrogenous compounds, contaminants, and heavy metals. GEF assistance has resulted in a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for land-based sources of marine pollution, living resources and critical habitats. This was adopted by all 20 nations under the Barcelona Convention.
Pollution and Ecosystem Health
There are concerns over the decline, especially in the northern Mediterranean, of fish species and species diversity. Negative anthropogenic impacts on fisheries are untreated sewage and an increased incidence of toxic blooms. However, quantifying these effects and establishing the respective contributions of overfishing and eutrophication are problematic. Blooms of phytoplankton and benthic diatoms have resulted in local fish kills caused by anoxia. Planktonic blooms and sewage contamination of coastal waters have also caused health problems associated with the ingestion of contaminated shellfish.

Socioeconomic Conditions
The Mediterranean Sea’s 26,000 kilometers of coast supports a population estimated at 132 million inhabitants. The figures swell in the summer months, as tourists flock to the region, attracted by its cultures and pleasant climate. The continuous increase of tourists and settlers is a boon to the region, and is today of higher economic value than fisheries in many Mediterranean countries.
Info for reprint
For information on reusing this article please go here.