URCHIN: Underwater Research Coralligenous Habitat In Naples
Staff
22/12/2025
Project sheet
Urchin is a project dedicated to the study of coralligenous, one of the Mediterranean’s biodiversity hotspots, to assess its ecological status and impacts in and outside the Park, guiding future protection actions. It also provides for surveys on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, now threatened by poaching, analyzing its population, dynamics and nursery areas to support the updating of regulations. The project also includes community involvement through questionnaires, an innovative approach that aims to make damage measurable and strengthen more effective management of marine ecosystems.
Keywords
Conservation
Monitoring
Project name
URCHIN: Underwater Research Coralligenous Habitat In NaplesDuration
20 months
Location
Marine Protected Area Submerged Park of Gaiola
Responsible organisation
NBFC
Budget
139,117.50 (NBFC contribution €125,205.75, beneficiary co-financing €13,911.75)
Goals
The Urchin project aims to fill key knowledge gaps on the Park’s marine ecosystems, with three key objectives:
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Coralligenous: expand knowledge of the coralligenous biocenosis, one of the major hotspots of Mediterranean biodiversity, assessing its ecological status and impacts to guide protection actions and possible extensions of protected areas.
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Paracentrotus lividus: to collect data on population, dynamics, sizes, and nursery areas of the sea urchin, a species now heavily affected by poaching, so as to provide scientific basis for updating regulations.
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Local communities: measure public involvement and awareness through questionnaires before, during and after the project.
Stakeholders involved
Urchin project stakeholders play a central role in the success of conservation actions. Catering companies are involved to promote sustainable sourcing practices and reduce pressure on sea urchin, which are often poached related to growing gastronomic demand.
Citizens, on the other hand, participate as an active and informed community, helping to raise awareness of coralligenous and marine ecosystem issues, encouraging responsible behavior and supporting the conservation of local resources.
Main expected results
The main expected outcomes of the Urchin project involve the production of robust and up-to-date data to support coralligenous and sea urchin conservation, which are essential to guide more effective conservation interventions.
The goal is also to generate evidence capable of strengthening measures against poaching, providing a scientific basis useful for enforcement and possible revision of existing regulations, so as to sustainably protect this fragile marine ecosystem.
Dissemination of results.
The dissemination and repeatability of the expected results of the Urchin project are a key added value. The data collected on coralligenous and sea urchin, particularly vulnerable species, will provide a scientific basis that can also be used in other areas of equal ecological importance.
This will allow methodologies, interventions and protocols to be replicated in similar contexts, fostering more effective management of Mediterranean marine ecosystems and contributing to larger-scale conservation of endangered species. Initial results of the project have been disseminated in the national press and can be accessed at links in the newspapers Il Mattino and FanPage.
