Risk-Monitoring, Modelling and Mitigation (M3-HABs) of benthic microalgal blooms across Mediterranean region

The pan-Mediterranean project M3-HABs regarding monitoring of harmful algal blooms, with particular reference to the benthic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata has recently started in the framework of the ENPI-CBCMED Programme. Along European Mediterranean coasts, Ostreopsis blooms have been so far reported in Italy, Spain, France, Croatia and Greece, and Ostreopsis occurrence has been recently reported also in other Mediterranean Countries, such as Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon. The specific objective of the project is to provide a common pan-Mediterranean strategy for monitoring benthic toxic microalgae, through the development of new, more efficient and common procedures and protocols, making the process mostly cost and time effective, allowing for most efficient monitoring designs, increasing the knowledge on environmental drivers affecting Ostreopsis blooms and translate this into a forecasting tool, and improving the general awareness of the risks related to Ostreopsis. Given the specific objective of the project, the following results are expected: a larger awareness of the risks associated to the Ostreopsis blooms, an appropriate diffusion of caution measures set up, the production of common monitoring protocols, the development of new technologies for species-specific identification and counting and the build-up of prediction models in order to prevent and reduce risk factors for the environment, human health and economic activities. The project will improve the establishment of solid networks along Mediterranean coasts to cope with the Ostreopsis emergencies, providing the target groups, common and intercalibrated protocols, in order to have comparable samplings in space and time through the Mediterranean Sea.