Fish and marine invertebrates from the Israeli Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Fish and marine invertebrates caught with trawl surveys (fish and shrimp trawls) from the Mediterranean continental shelf and upper slope of Israel from 1990 to 2012 (1990-1994, 2000, and 2008-2012). Surveys took place by onboard trawlers (fish and shrimp trawls) fishing the Israeli continental shelf and upper slope. Data were extracted from hauls replicating commercial trawl hauls, that is, the skippers were asked to perform their own routes within a given depth, location or time and they are therefore hybrids between fisheries dependent and independent surveys.

Study Extent : South-eastern Mediterranean Sea (Israeli continental shelf and upper slope). Depth range 8-180.5 meters. Method step description:

Historical and modern catch data of Israeli trawlers were used to evaluate trends in abundance, biomass and diversity of Levantine fishes and marine invertebrates. Historical data were collected from trawl hauls from 1990 to 1994. Current data were collected in trawl hauls conducted in 2000 and between 2008 and 2011, covering the same fishing fields and depth range on the continental shelf and upper slope.

Funding : This study was partially supported by grants from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (D.E., D.G., E.S.), as well as the Maurice Hatter Grant for Maritime Studies and the Rieger Foundation Fellowship for Environmental Studies (D.E.). We also thank Dr Oren Sonin for collecting the 1990s trawl data, Dr Tamara Shiganova for providing data on fish invasions in the Black and Caspian Seas as well as E. Schwindt, A. Bortolus and A. Solari for contributing data on Argentinean invasions.