The University of Malta, as a full project partner, recently hosted the latest HARMONY project Steering Committee meeting. The project is funded under the framework of Interreg V-A Italia-Malta Operational Programme (2014-2020), with Prof. Alan Deidun being the UM’s principal investigator within the same project.
The Steering Committee was officially opened by Hon. Aaron Farrugia, Minister for the Environment and Planning, by Dr Andrea Marino, delegate to the Italian Ambassador to Malta and by Dr Maria Cristina Mangano from the University of Palermo, lead partner of the project.
The main scope of the Steering Committee was to discuss the upcoming project activities and budgetary obligations, as well as to present results of the extensive field monitoring conducted within Maltese and Sicilian waters for Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, vermetid trottoirs and coralligenous assemblages with the objective of assessing the impact of NIS (Non-Indigenous Species) on the same habitats.
The project is also making use of innovative analytical tools and techniques, such as Stable Isotope Analysis (SIA), on selected marine species collected during the project’s field surveys. The first HARMONY project Newsletter was recently launched and is available through the project website, whilst a short promotional video clip about the UM’s field sampling efforts was released for social media.
The 30-month-long project, which formally kicked off in March 2018, brings together a total of seven partners, four from Sicily (University of Palermo, ISPRA, CNRS-IAMC and the Regional Fishing Directorate) and three from Malta (University of Malta, ERA and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture), under the aegis of the University of Palermo. The main objective of the project is to identify common stressors operating on a number of priority marine habitats within selected Marine Protected Areas in Malta and Sicily, and to streamline and to harmonise as much possible ongoing monitoring efforts conducted in Sicily and in Malta in related to Descriptor 2 and Descriptor 5 of the MSFD. Within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Descriptor 2 refers to Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) whilst Descriptor 5 refers to Seafloor Integrity.
The University of Malta is also represented in the project by Dr Adam Gauci, Dr Anthony Galea and Mr Johann Galdies, from the Department of Geosciences. The University of Malta heads Workpackage 2 within the HARMONY project and was entrusted with the design and updating of the project website, besides contributing to field sampling and analyses efforts over the past year through the purchase of a Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) and the conduction of field SCUBA diving monitoring surveys.
Further information about the HARMONY project can be gleaned through the project website and social media page, from which users can register to receive periodic project Newsletters.