A paper titled “The Willingness to Assess and Contribute to Pinna-SOS Recovery Actions of Marine Fishers/Farmers and Stakeholders,” with the participation of APC S.A., was published in the scientific journal Fishes (Fishes 2024, 9 (8), 297). The paper examines the capacity and willingness of key professional groups in the fishing and marine aquaculture sectors, as well as involved Administrative Authorities and other maritime-related stakeholders in Greece, to contribute to recovery actions for the species Pinna nobilis. It also records and evaluates observations from the involved stakeholders regarding the presence of the species in important areas of the country.

The species is listed in Annex IV of Directive 92/43/EEC (as a species of Community Interest requiring strict protection), in Annex II (as an endangered species) of the Protocol for Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention). Since 2019, it has been included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as "critically endangered" due to the drastic population decline recorded in the Mediterranean since 2016, which is linked to the emergence of pathogenic microorganisms.

The paper is part of the project "Innovative Actions for Monitoring-Recovery-Assisting Recruitment of the Endangered Species (Pinna) Pinna nobilis" (MIS 5052394), funded by the Greek Operational Program for Fisheries and the Sea 2014-2020 (EPALTH 2014-2020).

Publication link:
https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/9/8/297
https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes9080297