The “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” series includes new records of marine species found in the Mediterranean basin and/or information on the spatial distribution of already established species of particular interest. The current article presents information on 20 marine taxa classified per country according to their geographic position in the Mediterranean, from west to east. The new records per ecoregion are as follows: Algeria: the first record of the fish Etrumeus golanii is reported along the Algerian coast. Tunisia: the alien jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata is reported for the first time in the Gulf of Gabès. Italy: the first record of Siganus rivulatus in the Strait of Sicily and a new record of Katsuwonus pelamis from the central Tyrrhenian Sea are reported. The establishment of the isopod of the genus Mesanthura in the northern Tyrrhenian with some notes on its ecology are also included. Croatia: signs of establishment of the Lessepsian Siganus luridus and the occurrence of the alien mollusc Rapana venosa are reported. Albania: the first record of the elasmobranch Alopias superciliosus and a recent sighting of the rare monk seal Monachus monachus in Albanian waters are given. Greece: signs of the establishment of the fish Parupeneus forsskali and of the ascidian Hermania momus in Hellenic Aegean waters are reported. Turkey: a new record of the fish P. forsskali and of the Acarea of the genus Acaromantis and Simognathus are given, while the first case of Remora australis in association with delphinids and the occurrence of the sea star Coscinasterias tenuispina are reported. Also, the establishment of the two alien species Isognomon legumen and Viriola sp. [cf. corrugata] are presented. Egypt: the fish Bathygobius cyclopterus is reported for the first time in Mediterranean Sea waters. Also, a new record of Pagellus bogaraveo and a first record of Seriola fasciata in Egyptian Mediterranean waters are reported. Lebanon: the first record of Dondice banyulensis is presented.

Protection against downy mildew in organic viticulture is exclusively based on the use of copper products but these cause environmental concerns. The aim of this work was to assess a control strategy under Mediterranean climatic conditions with the goal of reducing the quantities of copper allowed under organic viticulture. The control strategy was based on the use of copper oxychloride with varying doses and intervals between their applications. The efficiency of the control was assessed based on the incidence and severity of the disease in grape leaves and bunches. The products used ensured effective control under moderate disease pressure. It was found that during seasons with a low pressure of downy mildew attack, it is possible to contain the fungus respecting the ceiling prescribed by the organic regulations. Otherwise, when the pressure of the fungus is high, in the case of humid and rainy seasons, it is not possible to respect the limit. Organic growers can minimize the use of copper in organic viticulture by using copper-alternatives when downy mildew infection is intermediate or low.

There are several protected areas in Albanian surrounded by agricultural lands. It is beyond argument that the issue of safeguarding the biodiversity and the landscape of such areas is inseparable from farming as the performance of this latter is primarily dependent on the status of natural resources and at the same time affects the surrounding environment, the diversity and stability of natural ecosystems. On the other hand, rural people in theseregions have to make their living principally from agriculture in the future, too. The research presented here is based on an analysis of the agricultural development of the last twenty years of a protected area and assessed the trend in the use of mechanization, fertilizer, pesticides as well as changes in the structure of crops and livestock. The analysis has enabled us to properly evaluate the environmental performance of agriculture in this particular region. The study offers many recommendations on the right policies and appropriate economic incentives to improve its future agricultural outputs while making the sector economically efficient, socially acceptable and environmental friendly. The main strategic directions for increasing farm revenues in the rural areas surrounding the Lake, taking into account the tradition and the development trends of private farms, should focus on adapting the agricultural production to the development of agro-tourism, in order to exploit the opportunities offered by the nature of the region; increasing the number of associations of rural areas production and services in order to strengthen cooperation among producers and encourage better marketing.

Since 2005, the Government of Albania has been providing subsidies for competitive sectors of the agriculture, mostly fruit growing. However, there is a general lack of data regarding farm revenues, profitability and competitiveness and the criteria are not very restrictive in terms of orchard size or capital. The purpose of this research was to study the competitiveness of fruit tree farms. The study was conducted from 2009 - 2011 in the Vlora region by collecting financial information from 70 fruit tree farms, distributed at different levels of altitude and slopes, both features having an impact on the choice of crops, cultural practices and market access. The average income of rural families in the Vlora region (proxy for the Reproduction Threshold) acted as a reference against which the economic viability of farming systems was evaluated. In general, despite the farm typology, location and differences in net incomes, the farms under study had low net incomes, where 95 percent were under the reproduction threshold. This was mainly due to their small farm surface and, consequently, low productivity. Therefore, there is a lack of ability to accumulate capital and intensify the production, maintaining the extensive type of fruit growing. Under these conditions, 60 percent of the farmers interviewed were involved in other secondary agricultural activities to increase their sustainability, making these farms more competitive than the specialised ones. Although the orientation of subsidises to small fruit farms will offer a better guarantee to low-income categories, it will also delay restructuring of the Albanian agriculture. It may also have a negative effect on the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, in general, because the lack of readiness to sell the land will make it difficult for other farms to grow in order to reach the reproduction threshold and to take advantage of the economics of scale. In conclusion of the above results, the Government of Albania should set some criteria for the beneficiaries of subsidies in terms of farm size and capital to be invested. This would require a set of policies to create some appealing alternatives for farmers selling the land.

Production of healthy and certified nursery trees is one of the primary conditions for intensive and stable development of the fruit tree sector. In the last decade , fruit tree production in Albania has drastically increased with more than a thousand hectares per year. The nursery production has attempted to follow with the same pace with about 150 nurseries in the country and more than 2 million nursery trees planted and only 9 percent imported. The purpose of this research, conducted from 2008-2009, was to undertake an economic analysis of these nurseries in view of potential subsidies offered by the government. Thirty-six nurseries were interviewed having quite an intensive production of nursery trees located in the Vlora, Fier, Durrës and Tirana regions. Twenty nurseries are specialised, producing only one species of fruit trees, 8 nurseries producing two species and other 8 producing three or four species. The data showed that all the nurseries studied are profitable. On average, their net income is 20000 EUR/farm. The ratio between incomes and costs is 1:0.45. Furthermore, farms producing up to two species of nursery trees have better financial indicators than those producing 3 to 4 species. Moreover, the specialised nurseries have lower costs of more than 3 percent for all categories of nursery trees.

This work describes the results of an experiment conducted in a vineyard in Durres, Albania from 2004 to 2006, to study the efficacy of two strains of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner, vars kurstaki and aizawai, against the moth Lobesia botrana Denis Schiffermuleler (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a major pest of grapevines. The experimental results revealed that the two strains were significantly more effective than the control, with var. aizawai being more effective than var. kurstaki. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) provided better protection of the bunches from the second generation compared to the third one showing the short persistence of action of the active ingredient. The high degree of efficacy supported a role for Bt in grapevine moth management. Our study also provided insights into the population dynamics of the European grapevine moth under Albanian climatic conditions. Despite the necessity for the pheromone traps to indicate the start of the flight period, the experiments confirmed the lack of a correlation between the population dynamics and the level of damage by the pest. Pheromone trapping can offer very useful indications regarding the start of the flight period of each generation and its duration but not on the severity and incidence of the pest.