The publication collects and analyzes all the observations of rare fishes collected between 2015 and 2022 in the Balearic Sea provided by more than a hundred collaborators
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Consellería de Agricultura, Pesca y Medio Natural
The Species Protection Service and the Marine Resources Service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment have edited, with the collaboration of SEO/*BirdLife, a new Quadern de Natura with the results of the eight years of existence of the database of rare fishes of the Balearic Islands (DAPERA), which they jointly manage.
DAPERA is a register of data on rare fishes of the Balearic Islands, created to systematically compile observations and catches of rare species in the Balearic Islands (unusual species), or other relevant biological words on fishes of the archipelago. The database collects the observations of more than a hundred individual collaborators, organizations such as Observadores del Mar, and groups related to the marine environment, such as professional and recreational fishermen, divers, environmental agents and marine reserve watchmen.
This is a citizen science project through which everyone can contribute to the knowledge of the Balearic marine fauna through the contribution of their citation that must be accompanied by all the information available (the species, if known, the date, the locality, a photograph, etc.). All observations are verified by the technicians of the Consellería before being incorporated into the databank.
The objective of DAPERA is to improve the available information, especially on fishes of no commercial interest, some of which are rare and endangered. It is also intended to collect data on new species in the Mediterranean, such as those arriving from the Red Sea due to the opening of the Suez Canal (Lessepsian species), or those coming from the Atlantic due to other causes, such as climate change or increased maritime traffic.
The observation of rarities that belong to other bioregions or that usually live in areas far from our waters is very important since it allows us to detect the entry of exotic species into the Mediterranean and to anticipate the effects of climate change in the marine environment. On the other hand, the citations of singular or very little-known species provide valuable data on the distribution, biology or conservation status of our biota.
The first DAPERA list, published in 2015, consisted of 97 different species. On the occasion of this publication, a new list has been prepared that includes 107 species of which population monitoring is of interest, essentially for reasons of vulnerability and conservation, and another list of 48 species, which includes newly arrived species (mainly thermophilic, indicating the increase in water temperature), other very rare species and species of expected appearance.
Up to 2022, a total of 281 records of 48 different species have been recorded, including 71 records provided by the Observers of the Sea platform collected up to 2021. Of the species belonging to the vulnerable group, the most cited has been the manta ray (Gymnura altavela), with 32 observations, while some rarer species, such as for example the cardinal fish, Zu cristatus, or the girdle Trachipterus trachypterus, have only been cited once. As for the species of the newcomer’s group, the most frequent have been the green parrotfish (Sparisoma cretense), the dentex horse mackerel (Pseudocaranx dentex), the royal sardinian (Diplodus cervinus) and the trumpetfish (Fistularia commersonii).
According to the conservation reference categories established by the IUCN, 2% of the species cited in DAPERA are critically endangered, 5% are endangered, 33% are vulnerable, 34% are near threatened, and 18% are species of least concern.
Those interested in reporting their observations of rare fish can do so directly through a form that can be found on the Species Protection Service website, where they can also download the new DAPERA publication in pdf format: http://www.caib.es/sites/proteccioespecies/ca/dapera/.