8.6 Future Directions in Management and Conservation
Biology of Seaweeds and Seagrasses in the Alboran Sea
Marine macrophyte management in Spain began indirectly late in the twentieth
century through the designation of several protected areas, mainly on those islands
and coastal localities with lesser human influence. After that, the conservation of
these habitats was implemented by the enactment of laws, international agreements,
and standards. One of the first was the European Council (EC) Regulation 1626/
1994, later replaced by the Regulation 1967/2006, most widely known as the
“Mediterranean Regulation.” This Regulation prohibits fishing with bottom-trawl
nets over the Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Mediterranean and promotes the
installation of artificial reefs. This has reduced the decline of the meadows, at least
on the eastern coasts. However, the most relevant regulations for seagrass conservation were the Habitats Directive 92/43 EC and the Council Directive 97/62/EC,
adapting the previous directive to technical and scientific progress. Seagrasses are
represented in the succeeding designated priority habitats (Posidonia beds, 1120,
and Coastal lagoons, 1150). Three other community interest habitats may also
include seagrass meadows of several species: sandbanks that are covered by shallow
seawater all the time (1110), mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low
tide (1140), and large shallow inlets and bays (1160).
The setting up of the Natura 2000 network implied the establishment of Sites of
Community Interest (SCI) in the marine environment, which in turn the Habitats
Directive foresees its final designation as a Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
The final reckoning is that 75% of Spanish seagrass meadows are included within
one of the existing marine protected areas. This percentage varies among communities on the Mediterranean coast, ranging from 62 to 96% for the Valencia and
Murcia regions, respectively (Guillén and Otero 2015). Nevertheless, this protection
is worthless without the approval of the currently developing management plans and
the final designation of these areas as Special Areas of Conservation. Moreover, the
fostering and improvement of the supervisory and surveillance monitoring, application of the law, and enforcement against infringements must be seriously considered.
The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) includes monitoring of the ecological status of some marine angiosperms to assess the quality of Mediterranean
waters. Furthermore, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) also
includes marine angiosperms as environmental quality bioindicators complementing
the Water Framework Directive assessment in several parameters. The application of
both directives may result in stricter control of the harmful human activities affecting
these seagrasses.
The Spanish Law of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity (Ley 42/2007) aims to
conserve Spanish biodiversity, understood as habitat, species, and genetic biodiversity. For this purpose, an inventory of habitats and marine species was developed
(Inventario Español de Hábitats y Especies Marinos, IEHEM) according to the Real
Decreto 556/2011. This inventory supplies information to the Spanish catalogue of
endangered habitats (Catálogo Español de Hábitat en Peligro de Desaparición,
272
A. Flores-Moya et al.
Biology of Seaweeds and Seagrasses in the Alboran Sea
Marine macrophyte management in Spain began indirectly late in the twentieth
century through the designation of several protected areas, mainly on those islands
and coastal localities with lesser human influence. After that, the conservation of
these habitats was implemented by the enactment of laws, international agreements,
and standards. One of the first was the European Council (EC) Regulation 1626/
1994, later replaced by the Regulation 1967/2006, most widely known as the
“Mediterranean Regulation.” This Regulation prohibits fishing with bottom-trawl
nets over the Posidonia oceanica meadows in the Mediterranean and promotes the
installation of artificial reefs. This has reduced the decline of the meadows, at least
on the eastern coasts. However, the most relevant regulations for seagrass conservation were the Habitats Directive 92/43 EC and the Council Directive 97/62/EC,
adapting the previous directive to technical and scientific progress. Seagrasses are
represented in the succeeding designated priority habitats (Posidonia beds, 1120,
and Coastal lagoons, 1150). Three other community interest habitats may also
include seagrass meadows of several species: sandbanks that are covered by shallow
seawater all the time (1110), mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low
tide (1140), and large shallow inlets and bays (1160).
The setting up of the Natura 2000 network implied the establishment of Sites of
Community Interest (SCI) in the marine environment, which in turn the Habitats
Directive foresees its final designation as a Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
The final reckoning is that 75% of Spanish seagrass meadows are included within
one of the existing marine protected areas. This percentage varies among communities on the Mediterranean coast, ranging from 62 to 96% for the Valencia and
Murcia regions, respectively (Guillén and Otero 2015). Nevertheless, this protection
is worthless without the approval of the currently developing management plans and
the final designation of these areas as Special Areas of Conservation. Moreover, the
fostering and improvement of the supervisory and surveillance monitoring, application of the law, and enforcement against infringements must be seriously considered.
The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) includes monitoring of the ecological status of some marine angiosperms to assess the quality of Mediterranean
waters. Furthermore, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) also
includes marine angiosperms as environmental quality bioindicators complementing
the Water Framework Directive assessment in several parameters. The application of
both directives may result in stricter control of the harmful human activities affecting
these seagrasses.
The Spanish Law of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity (Ley 42/2007) aims to
conserve Spanish biodiversity, understood as habitat, species, and genetic biodiversity. For this purpose, an inventory of habitats and marine species was developed
(Inventario Español de Hábitats y Especies Marinos, IEHEM) according to the Real
Decreto 556/2011. This inventory supplies information to the Spanish catalogue of
endangered habitats (Catálogo Español de Hábitat en Peligro de Desaparición,
272
A. Flores-Moya et al.