It is now well known that Mediterranean ecosystems are facing threats from climate change and human pressure. Implementing protected areas, in which destructive activities are limited or prohibited, is a mean to slow down the loss of biodiversity. Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) are one kind of marine protected areas. These areas are sites designated under the EU Habitats Directive, as part of the Natura 2000 network, aiming to provide conservation measures to species and habitat of importance.

The RECIF project aims to assess the effectiveness of these areas, by realizing a monitoring in 8 SAC located in Alpes-Maritimes (06) and Var (83), France. Evaluation studies of ichthyologic fauna diversity, fish density and biomass distributions, and catches from small scale fisheries will be realized by underwater visual census and experimental fisheries. Observations will be done within each SAC, at its periphery and at a distance from it (control). This will enable us to define, for the most recent areas, a starting point for a historical dataset about the effect of coastal seafloor protection on communities diversity, particularly fish stocks. For areas already established for a long time, a standardized monitoring will be initiated. We will undertake this biodiversity inventory plan for each SAC and during two campaigns, in Spring and Fall.