During the 1st meeting of the MedSudMed Coordination Committee, a general outline of research and the activities to be implemented by the Project were discussed by the participants. A preliminary plan was presented for research activities aimed at improving information resources for fisheries management, biodiversity protection, and ecosystem preservation in the area covered by the Project. It was focused on three main proposals: (i) Spatial distribution of demersal resources according to environment and fishery characteristics; (ii) Stock identification of small pelagic fish and oceanographic processes influencing their abundance and distribution; (iii) Marine Protected Areas and Fisheries Management; (iv) Implementation of a regional Database and Information System.

The MedSudMed Project, for each one of these research topics, decided to organize an Expert Consultation (EC) in order to provide an overview of available knowledge on fishery ecology in the region. The ECs consist of regional and extra-regional experts and will provide an overview of available knowledge on the addressed issues. The aims of the ECs are the definition of a work program for the activities to be implemented on the basis of common methodology and the proposition of pilot study cases. Furthermore the ECs should also identify needs in national and regional expertise and are the opportunity to define criteria for the data collection and identify a task leader who will coordinate this program of work.

Research activities deal with fisheries ecology and concentrate on issues regarding different components of the ecosystems.