Events and News

ISPRA's Hydro-Meteo-Sea Forecasting System: operational implementations in the environmental field, research applications and development lines

The Hydro-Meteo-Sea Forecasting System (SIMM), which became operational at the beginning of 2000, was designed with the aim of providing meteorological and meteo-marine forecasts in an area, that of the Mediterranean, characterized by the interaction of various phenomena on a range of scales ranging from km to the synoptic scale.

Blue Horizon: plastic

How is it possible that there is still so much plastic waste in the sea? Is there a solution to all of this?
Experts from CNR-IAS, ISPRA and The Great Bubble Barrier will talk tonight about these issues. In particular, an ISPRA researcher will present the policies implemented at European and national level in order to manage and solve the problem of plastic in the sea.

Published in the ‘Biodiversity and Conservation’ scientific journal the article ‘Cetacean sensitivity and threats analysis to assess effectiveness of protection measures: an example of integrated approach for cetacean conservation in the Bonifacio Bouches.’

The study investigated the effectiveness of spatial protection measures for conserving cetacean species in the Bonifacio Bouches. Cetaceans are highly mobile and eclectic species, which interact with the environment and the human activities in a complex way. To preserve their environment, a primary tool is the establishment of marine protected areas in key sites of high ecological value. 

Submarines and environmental protection: a concrete commitment in the Mediterranean through the collaboration between ISPRA and the Italian Navy

On 14 January, at the Navy General Staff, the ISPRA President, Stefano Laporta, and the Head of the 5th Submarine Department of the General Staff,  Admiral Vito Lacerenza, discussed the collaboration activities between ISPRA and the Italian Navy provided for by the memorandum of understanding signed in December 2019. The agreement aims to strengthen synergies for the protection of the marine environment and, in this context, a significant contribution can also come from the monitoring of marine habitats through the acoustic sensors of submarines. ISPRA and the Navy also collaborate in the development of Artificial Intelligence algorithms for the classification of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic noise. The close collaboration with ISPRA has also allowed the inclusion of a submarine officer, as an expert in the sector, in the Technical Group on Underwater Noise established under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive aimed at protecting the seas of the European Union. The new generation submarines, thanks to a range of technologically advanced sensors, in addition to ensuring deterrence, safety and protection of national interests in the Mediterranean, contribute to scientific research and the protection of the marine environment.

Project STRONG SEA - Survey and TReatment ON Ghost Nets Sea LIFE

ISPRA is coordinator of the project started in December 2021. Strong Sea is funded under the LIFE program, priority area Nature and Biodiversity, on the funds established in the 2014-2020 programming. The aim of the project is to protect and improve the conservation status of Posidonia oceanica and Coralligenous habitats, both included in Directive 92/43 / EEC (Habitat Directive) and in the Natura 2000 network of sites.
The affected area is the Gulf of Asinara and the North West coast of Sardinia.

Project LIFE CONCEPTU Maris "CONservation of CEtaceans and Pelagic sea TUrtles in Med: Managing Actions for their Recovery In Sustainability"

The LIFE CONCEPTU Maris project, formulated more than a year ago, started on 10 January, based on the awareness that the Mediterranean Sea is undergoing serious changes due to growing anthropogenic pressures.
On this front, cetaceans and pelagic sea turtles, among the most charismatic and important species of our seas, risk a lot in terms of conservation.

Costa Concordia: 10 years after the shipwreck, the analysis on the environmental restoration of the seabed

On 13 January 2012, in the waters of the Giglio Island, the cruise ship Costa Concordia sank in a tragic event, which cost the lives of 32 people, and also caused considerable damage to the coastal environment, especially to the seabed.

Damage determined by the presence of the wreck and by the site activities, necessary to remove and move it away; in addition to the damage caused by harmful substances the ship was loaded with: fuel, heavy oils, paints and detergents.
An Observatory was set up to monitor the proper conduct of operations, whose work is still ongoing and in which representatives of the MiTE, ISPRA, Arpa Toscana and the local authorities involved participate.
The restoration works carried out so far have been more successful than expected. Removed the causes of the loss of posidonia, the transplants carried out in 2016 have shown a doubling of the number of transplanted beams, just as those carried out since 2019 seem to have a similar outcome. Similarly for the gorgonians, the high survival and healing rates have meant that some rock faces have regained their original three-dimensionality and are approaching their natural condition.

Concordia. Photographic report from the removal of the wreck to the restoration of the damaged marine environments

Video: the environmental emergencies at sea: the case of  “Costa Concordia”

Photo gallery

Web site MiTE

ISPRA publication “Marine Litter: looking forward a new world"

As part of the INDICIT I and II Projects, Ispra has produced the publication "Marine Litter: looking forward a new world", the result of a selection of photographic material collected in over four years of project activity together with an environmental awareness comic.

PNRR: MiTE-ISPRA protocol signed for the restoration of the seabed and marine habitats

400 million euros for interventions in favor of the sustainable blue economy
With the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the MiTE and ISPRA, the M2C4-3.5 investment of the PNRR "Restoration and protection of the seabed and marine habitats" can be carried out, which will allow to the Country to strengthen the observation capacities of marine ecosystems and implement a recovery and restoration campaign of marine habitats degraded by anthropogenic pressure.

Use of biopolymers in sea water

A cutting-edge project for environmental sustainability
A net consisting of a bioplastic identified thanks to a project started in 2016 by A.S.A. was installed in a tank of the Livorno Aquarium. SpA (Azienda Servizi Ambientali SpA) in cooperation with the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering of the University of Pisa, to which ISPRA and the Department of Biology of the University of Pisa subsequently joined, in 2019 the Livorno Aquarium and more recently, the textile company Coatyarn Srl.
It is a network made with technology designed by Coatyarn Srl using a biodegradable bioplastic in the sea, suitable for creating reforestation plants of Posidonia oceanica meadows.

Progetto H2020 EuroSea conference

Funded by the European Commission's research and innovation program, the EuroSea Project, of which ISPRA is a partner, supports the flagship initiative of the G7 countries on the future of seas and oceans.

ISPRA participation in Sealogy 2021

PNRR - Restoration and protection of the seabed and marine habitats for a sustainable blue economy
The 2021 edition of Sealogy, the European Blue Economy Exhibition, will be held in Ferrara from 18 to 20 November.
ISPRA will be present at the event and is organizing on November 19, together with the MiTE, the conference "PNRR - Restoration and protection of the seabed and marine habitats for a sustainable blue economy".

Public consultation on the updating of the Marine Strategy Measures Programs

On November 5, 2021, in implementation of art. 16 of Legislative Decree. 190/2010, it is opened the public consultation on the updating of the Marine Strategy Measures Programs pursuant to art. 12 of Legislative Decree 190/2010, prepared by the Ministry of Ecological Transition with the technical-scientific support of ISPRA.

ISPRA survey campaign on the marine environment in the offshore sector

An investigation campaign is in the phase of develop in the central Adriatic, between the Pescara, Ancona and Cesenatico seafarers, aimed at completing and deepening the knowledge framework on the marine environment affected by the presence of offshore platforms for the extraction of hydrocarbons from the bottom of the sea.

Fixed Line Transect Mediterranean monitoring Network - FLT Med Net. The long-term international agreement for the monitoring of marine macrofauna and the main threats deriving from maritime traffic and marine litter has been renewed

ISPRA and fourteen Research Institutions of the Mediterranean Area just signed the new triennial Agreement for continuous standard monitoring of cetaceans, sea turtle, other macro fauna and main threats (FLT Med Net, 2021 – 2024). The Agreement renew a long-term free of charge collaboration which started in 2007, when ISPRA (ex APAT) set off a sustainable approach for gathering long term data on marine macro fauna and two of their main threats (influence of maritime traffic, exposure risk by Floating marine macro litter) using ferries as platform of research. Since then, the approach was developed and shared within a growing international network of Universities and Research Institutions from five Mediterranean countries.

European Maritime Forum

The event aims to present the Blue Economy and in particular its target sectors such as: fishing and aquaculture, tourism, logistics and transport, renewable energy will therefore be the main assets, always with the aim of tending towards processes of approach to sustainability and circularity.

Barcolana Sea Summit

Barcolana Sea Summit, scheduled in Trieste from 6 to 9 October 2021, is a multilateral event on the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems, for greater environmental awareness and a regenerative socio-economic model.
The aim of the event is to create awareness of the need to establish a new relationship between man and sea, involving scientists, policy makers, businesses and civil society.

NET SCIENCE TOGETHER: Scientists for a day!

Around the ISPRA laboratories alongside researchers who study and protect the sea
ISPRA with the National Research Council - Institute for BioEconomy, thanks to a partnership that "unites and unites" most of the scientific research of Livorno, organizes the European Night of Researchers and Researchers, in collaboration with: Interuniversity Center of Marine Biology and Applied Ecology - CIBM, Aplysia, Harbor Master's Office, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and LaMMA Consortium and with the involvement of institutions and stakeholders of the city.

NET SCIENZAINSIEME brings you aboard the Astrea ship

Also this year NET Scienza Insieme virtually brings the public into their research facilities. After the Castel Romano Laboratories, board the Astrea, the research vessel of ISPRA.
In this virtual visit  will be possible to learn about the main research activities of the Institute on the marine environment and its ecosystems, carried out during the campaigns at sea, thanks to professionalism and cutting-edge technological tools, described by short videos that will accompany the virtual visit.

Welcome on board of the Astrea ship

ISPRA at the Ocean Literacy Festival in the Mediterranean Sea

Supported by the European Commission's Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the EU4Ocean Coalition has organized the Ocean Literacy Festival in the Mediterranean Sea, which will showcase ocean literacy initiatives and activities from all Mediterranean countries.
The Mediterranean Literacy Festival takes place on Med Coast Day, September 25, 2021, and is part of the larger EU4Ocean event in the Mediterranean Sea Basin (September 24-27), which aims to bring ocean literacy in the minds and actions of everyone in the Mediterranean Sea

ISPRA is launching the new comics of the INDICT project on the "Carrie" sea turtle at the European Researchers' Night

The protection of the marine environment and its biodiversity, the threats of pollution and waste at sea are the central theme of the new comic developed by ISPRA within the exhibition for the INDICIT project.
The sea turtle Carrie is the protagonist of a new story, the adventure of a courageous creature and the dangers it encounters among abandoned plastic and microplastic nets.
The comic will be exhibited for the first time at the European Researchers' Night on 24 and 25 September at the Città dell'Altra Economia in Rome as part of the NET ScienzaInsieme project.

NET SCIENZAINSIEME: Sustainability of fishing between past and future

Guided tour of the "Fishing in the Lagoon" exhibition
Experts in fishing and traditional ecological knowledge will guide visitors through the exhibition "Fishing in the lagoon" illustrating the techniques, equipment, boats and traditions related to this important aspect of the economy and culture of the Venetian area. The present material, including the precious nineteenth-century models of boats exhibited for the first time to the public, will allow ISPRA researchers to tell about the sustainability of fishing, poised between the legacy of the past and the challenges of the future.

The ecological beach of Favignana for environmental protection and conscious tourism

The entire initiative is organized in collaboration with the Aegadian Islands Protected Marine Area and is part of the MED Dé.Co.U. Plages project co-financed under the IEV CT Italy-Tunisia 2014-2020 European program which aims to create the conditions for greater protection of the environment in coastal territories.
A full calendar of events and activities that will take place mainly on the beach of Praia and at the bathhouse plant of the Tonnare di Favignana and Formica.
These include circular economy initiatives and Citizen Science which will involve tourists, fishermen and local businesses / artisans as well as the inevitable environmental education activities to raise awareness of young and old on environmental issues.

Marine alien species: which of these have you ever observed or fished?

The booklet, produced by ISPRA, provides support to sea operators and users for the recognition of alien species observable and fishable in our seas, including some dangerous for human health as toxic to consumption or poisonous to contact.

II Summer school of Geomorphology, Ecology and Biology in the marine and insular environment

ISPRA, together with the Department of Engineering and Geology of the University "G. d'Annunzio "of Chieti-Pescara and the Marine Geology Section of the Italian Geological Society is organizing, with the patronage of the Italian Geological Society and the Gargano National Park, the" II summer school of Geomorphology, Ecology and Biology in the marine and insular environment "

Mediterranean Journalists Festival 2021

From 1 to 4 September 2021 Otranto will host the XIII edition of the Journalists of the Mediterranean Festival. Four days of international debates on the major issues of the Mediterranean, a place of commercial, cultural and social exchanges between East and West.
The DG of ISPRA, Alessandro Bratti, will participate on 3 September in the debate "Telling the truth between justice and legality". On 1 September ISPRA researchers will participate in the meeting "Mediterranean and Europe, the sea and plastic: what is the Marine Strategy".

Alien species of the Mediterranean sea: be aware of them

ISPRA and the Ventotene and S. Stefano Islands Marine Protected Area have launched a pilot activity for the monitoring of marine alien species.
In order to provide support to operators and users of the sea for the recognition of the main alien species potentially observable and fishable in our seas, including some dangerous for human health, an informative brochure has been created to recognize and report them.

The virtual photo exhibition of INDICIT I and II is now online!

In the frame of INDICIT II project was realized exhibition photo virtual developed by ISPRA to allow also during the pandemic to be able to disseminate the activities and results of the two projects financed by DG Environment. The photo exhibition highlights the impact of plastic pollution in marine animals and the activities of researchers

Bathing 2021 in Italy

From April to September, the 8,300 km of Italian coasts are sampled over 32,000 times. And in most cases these are operators of the regional environmental protection agencies, the public bodies which, together with ISPRA, composed the National environmental protection System.

Marine strategy: the pre-survey activity for the development of a "Metabarcoding eDNA" analysis protocol was completed in Trieste

This week, the pre-survey activity for the development of a "Metabarcoding eDNA" analysis protocol was included in the port of Trieste as part of a pilot monitoring activity for the Marine Strategy - Descriptor 2_Non-indigenous species, which sees the collaboration between ISPRA, the Polytechnic University of Marche and the regional agencies. The activity will make it possible to identify the taxonomic composition of animal and plant species in port areas, also identifying the presence of non-indigenous species and may constitute an important investigation tool for the early warning system.