The general objective of the PEACETIME cruise is to study the fundamental processes and their interactions at the ocean-atmosphere interface, occurring after atmospheric deposition (especially Saharan dust) in the Mediterranean Sea, and how these processes impact the functioning of the pelagic ecosystem. During the proposed 33 days cruise in the western and central Mediterranean Sea in May 2017, we will study the impact of atmospheric deposition on the cycles of chemical elements, on marine biogeochemical processes and fluxes, on marine aerosols emission and how ongoing changes will impact the functioning of Mediterranean Sea communities in the future. The cruise is designed to explore a variety of oligotrophic regimes. Combining in situ observations both in the atmosphere and the ocean, and in situ and minicosm-based on-board process studies, the 40 embarking scientists from atmosphere and ocean sciences will characterize the chemical, biological and physical/optical properties of both the atmosphere and the sea-surface microlayer, mixed layer and deeper waters. The PEACETIME strategy (season and cruise track) associated to a combination of dust transport forecasting tools and near real-time satellite remote sensing is designed to maximize the probability to catch a Saharan dust deposition event in a stratified water column in order to follow the associated processes in-situ. This coordinated multidisciplinary effort will allow us to fill the current weaknesses/lacks in our knowledge of atmospheric deposition impact in the ocean and feedbacks to the atmosphere in such oligotrophic systems. As a key joint-project between MERMEX and CHARMEX : The PEACETIME project comes in the scope of the regional multidisciplinaryprogramme MISTRALS (Mediterranean Integrated STudies at Regional And Local Scales ), which aims at predicting the evolution of this region following strong expected changes in climate and human pressures. In this framework, the PEACETIME project constitutes a key joint project between the ChArMEx (the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment) and MERMEx (Marine Ecosystems Response in the Mediterranean Experiment) initiatives, enabling to gather communities of atmospheric chemists and marine biogeochemists around the common question of assessing the impact of atmospheric deposition on the marine biogeochemical processes and air-sea exchanges.

The willingness to pay (WTP) of people to protect animal populations can be used as a tool for these populations’ conservation. The WTP reflects the non-use value of animals, which can be significant for charismatic species. This value can be used as an economic criterion for decision-makers in order to recommend protective measures. The definition of the WTP to protect a species is challenging, as valuation methods are time-consuming and expensive. To overcome these limitations, we built a benefit transfer function based on 112 valuation studies and apply it to 440 Mediterranean marine species. We extracted these species from the IUCN database and retrieved some required parameters from, amongst others, the FishBase database. Marine mammals appear to have the highest WTP value followed in order by sea turtles, sharks and rays, and ray-finned fishes. Commercial fish species appear to have the highest values amongst the fish class.

The Arcachon bay is a meso- / macro-tidal (0.8 to 4.6 m), semi-enclosed lagoon of 180 km² located on the South-western coast of France. Three main water masses are described in this bay: (i) the external neritic waters (ENW) directly influenced by the adjacent oceanic waters, (ii) the intermediate neritic waters (ItNW) and (iii) the inner neritic waters (InNW) more influenced by the continental inputs. The watershed of the Arcachon bay, mainly covered by forests, has an area of 3500 km² and the bay is considered as poorly anthropised. It hosts the largest Zostera noltei seagrass meadow in western Europe and is an important site for oyster farming and Manilla clam production. Since 1997, Arcachon Bay waters are monitored for hydrological and bio-geochemical parameters by the “Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux” (EPOC) Research Unit of the University of Bordeaux-CNRS, first in one single station (Eyrac), then on 2 complementary sites since 2005 (Bouee13 and Comprian). The monitoring is carried out within the national framework of the “SOMLIT” (“Service d’Observation en Milieu Littoral”) which is a French multi-site monitoring network initiated in the mid-1990s. SOMLIT is based on a joint strategy for 19 sites belonging to 12 ecosystems that are distributed over the three maritime facades of mainland France, i.e. the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Sampling of surface water samples is performed fortnightly at high tide for a group of 15 parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, silicate, suspended matter, chlorophyll a, concentrations and isotopic ratios of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen) and 8 flow cytometry biological variables of pico- and nanoplankton. Vertical profiles of multiparametric probes concerning 4 parameters (temperature, salinity, fluorescence, PAR) are also performed. Given the significant diversity of coastal ecosystems where SOMLIT’s stations are located, strict and joint guidelines with regards to sampling strategy, measurement methods and data qualification and storage are paramount in order to make FAIR data available to users. The whole data acquisition strategy is carried out within the framework of the SOMLIT quality system formalized in 2006-2007 by referring to the ISO 17025: 2017 standard “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”. Unified sampling and analysis protocols are based on recognized disciplinary standards and on the expertise of the research teams. The scientific objectives of SOMLIT are 1) to characterize the multi-decadal evolution of coastal ecosystems; 2) to determine the climatic and anthropogenic forcings and 3) to make data and logistical support available for research activities and other observation activities. SOMLIT is therefore a research tool providing large datasets that also serve as logistical support for related research actions (from seasonal to long-term studies). Two additional national networks operate at the same SOMLIT sites: “COAST-HF” network performs high-frequency measurements (automated in situ measurements every 10 to 20 minutes) and “PHYTOBS-network” provides microphytoplankton biodiversity data. SOMLIT, COAST-HF and PHYTOBS are elementary networks of the Research Infrastructure “Infrastructure Littorale et Côtière” (ILICO) and are National Observation Services (SNO) of the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers (INSU).

Worldwide, shellfish aquaculture and fisheries in coastal ecosystems represent crucial activities for human feeding. But these biological productions are under the pressure of climate variability and global change. Anticipating the biological processes affected by climate hazards remains a vital objective for species conservation strategies and human activities that rely on. Within marine species, filter feeders like oysters are real key species in coastal ecosystems due to their economic and societal value (fishing and aquaculture) but also due to their ecological importance. Indeed oysters populations in good health play the role of ecosystem engineers that can give many ecosystem services at several scales: building reef habitats that contribute to biodiversity, benthic-pelagic coupling and phytoplankton bloom control through water filtration, living shorelines against coastal erosion… The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793), which is currently widespread worldwide, was introduced into the Atlantic European coasts at the end of the 19th century for shellfish culture purposes and becomes the main marine species farmed in France (around 100 000 tons) despite severe mortalities crisis. But in the same time and because of warming, natural oysters beds has spread significantly along the French coast and are supposed to have reach approximately 500 000 tons. In that context, Pacific oyster populations (natural and cultivated) in France are the subjects of many scientific projects. Among them, a specific long-term biological monitoring focuses on the reproduction of these populations at a national scale: the VELYGER national program. With more than 8 years of weekly data at many stations in France, this field-monitoring program offers a valuable dataset for studying processes underpinning reproduction cycle of this key-species in relation to environmental parameters, water quality and climate change.   Database content: Larval concentration (number of individuals per 1.5 m3) monitored, since 2008, at several stations in six bays of the French coast (from south to north): Thau Lagoon and bays of Arcachon, Marennes Oléron, Bourgneuf, Vilaine and Brest (see map below).   Methods used to monitor larval concentration: An important volume of seawater (1.5 m3) is pumped twice a week throughout the spawning season (june-september), at one meter below the surface at high tide (+/- 2h) in several sites within each VELYGER ecosystem. Water is filtered trough plankton net fitted with 40 µm mesh. After a proper rinsing of the net, the retained material is transferred into a polyethylene bottle (1 liter) and fixed with alcohol. At laboratory, sample is then gently filtered and rinse again and transferred into eprouvette. Two sub-samples of 1 mL are then taken using a pipette and examined on a graticule slide for microscope. The microscopic examination is made with a conventional binocular optical microscope with micrometer stage at a magnification of 10 X (or above). During the counting, a special care is necessary as larvae of other bivalves are also collected and confusion is possible. Larvae of C. gigas are also classified into four stage of development: - Stage I = D-shaped straight hinge larvae (shell length <105 µm) - Stage II = Early umbo evolved larvae (shell length between 105 and 150 µm) - Stage III = Medium umbo larvae (shell length between 150 and 235 µm) - Stage IV*= Large umbo eyed pediveliger larvae (shell length > 235 µm) * Larvae that are very closed to settle are sometimes identified into a separated 5th stage, but generally this stage is included in stage IV.   Illustrations: Location of the different Velyger sites along the French coast. From south to north: Thau Lagoon and bays of Arcachon, Marennes Oléron, Bourgneuf, Vilaine and Brest.   Legend: Pacific Oyster Larvae (left side) and Natural oyster bed (right side). Photos : © S. Pouvreau/Ifremer

The French Atlantic coast hosts numerous macrotidal and turbid estuaries that flow into the Bay of Biscay that are natural corridors for migratory fishes. The two best known are those of the Gironde and the Loire. However, there are also a dozen estuaries set geographically among them, of a smaller scale. The physico-chemical quality of estuarine waters is a necessary support element for biological life and determines the distribution of species, on which many ecosystem services (e.g. professional or recreational fishing) depend. With rising temperatures and water levels, declining precipitation and population growth projected for the New Aquitaine region by 2030, the question of how the quality and ecological status of estuarine waters will evolve becomes increasingly critical. The MAGEST (Mesures Automatisées pour l’observation et la Gestion des ESTuaires nord aquitains) high-frequency monitoring of key physico-chemical parameters was first developed in the Gironde estuary in 2004 ; the Seudre and Charente estuaries were instrumented late 2020. First based on real-time automated systems, MAGEST is now equipped by autonomous multiparameter sensors. Depending of the stations, an optode is also deployed to secure dissolved oxygen measurement. By the end of 2020, MAGEST had 12 instrumented sites. Portets is a measuring station located in the upper Gironde estuary (Garonne subestuary, about 20 km upstream of the Bordeaux metropolis.

The dataset includes age- and length-based catch per unit effort data for commercial fish species collected by the French trawl survey EVHOE.

The Commission for the Conservation Southern Bluefin Tuna collects a variety of data types from its Members and Cooperating Non-Members, including total catch, catch and effort data, and catch at size data. Catch, size and trade information is also collected through the Commission's Catch Documentation Scheme, Japanese import statistics, and other monitoring programs. Annual catches provided on this page are reported on a calendar year basis. CCSBT Members use quota years (not calendar years) for managing catching limits, but quota years differ between Members, so calendar years are used to provide catches on a common timescale. Relevant subsets and summaries of these data are provided below. All figures are subject to change as improved data or estimates become available. In particular, reviews of SBT data in 2006 indicated that southern bluefin tuna catches may have been substantially under-reported over the previous 10-20 years and the data presented here do not include estimates for this unreported catch. Also, data for the last reported year of catch (2020) are preliminary and are subject to revision. Any latitudes and longitudes presented in these summaries represent the north western corner of the relevant grid, which is a 5*5 grid unless otherwise specified. Other information on Members and Cooperating Non-Members fishing activities appears in the reports of the Extended Scientific Committee, Compliance Committee and Extended Commission.

This dataset gathers isotopic ratios (carbon and nitrogen) and concentrations of both priority (mercury species and polychlorinated biphenyls congeners) and emerging (musks and sunscreens) micropollutants measured in a host-parasite couple (hake Merluccius merluccius muscle and in its parasite Anisakis sp) from the south of Bay of Biscay in 2018. In addition, the hake infection degree measured as the number of Anisakis sp. larvae was added for each hake collected.

Understanding the dynamics of species interactions for food (prey-predator, competition for resources) and the functioning of trophic networks (dependence on trophic pathways, food chain flows, etc.) has become a thriving ecological research field in recent decades. This empirical knowledge is then used to develop population and ecosystem modelling approaches to support ecosystem-based management. The TrophicCS data set offers spatialized trophic information on a large spatial scale (the entire Celtic Sea continental shelf and upper slope) for a wide range of species. It combines ingested prey (gut content analysis) and a more integrated indicator of food sources (stable isotope analysis). A total of 1337 samples of large epifaunal invertebrates (bivalve mollusks and decapod crustaceans), zooplankton, fish and cephalopods, corresponding to 114 species, were collected and analyzed for stable isotope analysis of their carbon and nitrogen content. Sample size varied between taxa (from 1 to 52), with an average of 11.72 individuals sampled per species, and water depths ranged from 57 to 516 m. The gut contents of 1026 fish belonging to ten commercially important species: black anglerfish (Lophius budegassa), white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), hake (Merluccius merluccius), megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), sole (Solea solea) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus) were analyzed. The stomach content data set contains the occurrence of prey in stomach, identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. To consider potential ontogenetic diet changes, a large size range was sampled. The TrophicCS data set was used to improve understanding of trophic relationships and ecosystem functioning in the Celtic Sea. When you use the data in your publication, we request that you cite this data paper. If you use the present data set (TrophicCS) for the majority of the data analyzed in your study, you may wish to consider inviting at least one author of the core team of this data paper to become a collaborator /coauthor of your paper.

The diet and stable isotopic (i.e. δ15N and δ13C values) compositions of eels have been studied during each season of 2019 with a fyke net in six estuaries located along the French coast of the eastern English Channel (Slack, Wimereux, Liane, Canche, Authie and Somme estuaries) (10.1371/journal.pone.0270348).