RESPIRE | Ecocean

Partners and funders

Université de Perpignan
Agence de l'eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse
CREM

Building on the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive ” (MSFD), and its commitment to achieving “good ecological status” for all marine waters, the Rhône-Mediterranean-Corsica Water Agency (AERMC) has launched, in collaboration with the University of Perpignan and Ecocean, the RESPIRE monitoring network.

Established to describe the spatiotemporal dynamics of fish post-larvae arriving on the Mediterranean coast, this network was set up in 2014, and the first monitoring efforts began in March 2015.

There are currently 28 monitoring sites spread across the entire French mainland Mediterranean coast and in Corsica. Counts are conducted in various areas recognized as nursery zones: natural habitats, seawalls, and Standardized Observation Units (UOS) installed in marinas. Within this network, Ecocean is responsible for conducting the monitoring as well as maintaining the network of Standardized Observation Units.