Abstract
Abstract. The paper presents a database of information on wrecks, natural and artificial reefs located in the Adriatic Sea, collected within the framework of the Interreg Italy–Croatia project ADRIREEF – Innovative exploitation of Adriatic Reefs in order to strengthen Blue Economy. The data collection lasted more than 1 year and included three surveys and a wide literature review. After being collected, data were harmonized and, where possible, made machine-readable. Moreover, data were widely metadated, published in a WebGIS (https://adrireef.github.io/sandbox3/, last access: 3 May 2021), and shared as open data in EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) Data Ingestion Portal through the SEANOE repository (Ferrà et al., 2020; https://doi.org/10.17882/74880). The database is composed of 285 three-dimensional records, each one described by 51 attributes. Parameters are clustered in four main groups: identification, reef description, site description, and management/exploitation information. Available literature (scientific and/or grey) was also included in the database and linked to the corresponding site.
Highlights
In the Blue Innovation concept, the attractiveness and possible use of existing marine resources which are not yet properly exploited is relevant to promote sustainable economic development (Vogt, 1998; Orams, 2002; Cater and Cater, 2007; Kiper, 2013; Sakellariadou and Kostopoulou, 2015; Nurhayati et al, 2019) and redefine marine fisheries (Pauly, 2018; Stead, 2018)
As Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is based on the three pillars for sustainable development – social, economic, and environmental – its implementation will in turn facilitate the enforcement of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, European Commission, 2008) and the achievement of Good Environmental Status (GES)
Based on the above considerations, this paper presents a comprehensive collection of 285 natural reefs, artificial reefs, and wrecks located in the Adriatic Sea within Italian, Croatian, and international waters
Summary
In the Blue Innovation concept, the attractiveness and possible use of existing marine resources which are not yet properly exploited is relevant to promote sustainable economic development (Vogt, 1998; Orams, 2002; Cater and Cater, 2007; Kiper, 2013; Sakellariadou and Kostopoulou, 2015; Nurhayati et al, 2019) and redefine marine fisheries (Pauly, 2018; Stead, 2018). Similar attempts to geolocalize ARs and wrecks were made along the national coasts and offshore waters of Florida and Alabama (USA), by querying municipalities about the deployment of the reefs (US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration Program, https://www.fws.gov/wsfrprograms/, last access: 3 May 2021), as well as in the Gulf of Mexico (Alabama Marine Resources Division, https://www.outdooralabama.com/ saltwater-fishing/artificial-reefs, last access: 3 May 2021). The latter dataset reports all the submerged structures (including ARs, rig-to-reefs, and wrecks) in the Gulf of Mexico, but only name, type of reef, and coordinates are publicly available. The result is an interactive map and an open-access detailed dataset (Ferrà et al, 2020) published on SEANOE whose contents are available for any user and purpose
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