Coming to grips with the jellyfish phenomenon in the Southern European and other Seas : research to the rescue of coastal managers

Abstract

Jellyfish swarms in the Southern European Seas (SES: Mediterranean and Black Seas) are a recurrent phenomenon which is attracting a groundswell of scientific and societal interest, with potential repercussions for public health, recreation, tourism, fisheries, aquaculture and marine ecosystem health. But this phenomenon also occurs in other areas of the globe, necessitating a collaborative framework which extends beyond the SES. The goal of this International Workshop is thus to bring together people involved in jellyfish research and in management for two full days, and to open the discussion to a wider community than that simply found within the SES. The Workshop will tackle ecosystem services and potential societal benefits provided by jellyfish and their blooms, and detrimental impacts of jellyfish and their aggregations on PERSEUS study areas and other oceans. The main focus of the Workshop is to review the state of our understanding of jellyfish blooms and their dynamics, and to discuss the development of observational systems that will eventually enable better management of their impacts. Some of the topics that will be addressed in Cadiz are the following: · how to strengthen our observational capacities to monitor jellyfish over time? (so as not to rely solely on citizen science for distribution and abundance data over time) · how can we make use of recent technological advances for research and monitoring of jellyfish blooms? · how to incorporate jellyfish in routine monitoring programmes that are carried out by specialists? (like for example phytoplankton or copepods) · what knowledge gaps we still need to bridge in order to be able to advance our conceptual understanding of jellyfish blooms and to enhance predictive abilities? · how to quantify the impact of jellyfish blooms within the context of Good Environmental Status achievement?