Characterization of Teatina Coast Marine Habitats (Central Adriatic Sea) toward an Integrated Coastal Management

The Adriatic Sea represents a vulnerable ecosystem and need an Integrated Coastal Management to protect, conserve and manage the coastal and marine areas. This preliminary work proposes a local case study aimed to the characterization of coastal marine habitats along Teatina coast (Abruzzo, central Italy), carrying out 11 transects parallel to the coastline. Moreover, the presence of sea turtles and cetaceans has been estimated by the analysis of specimens stranded and included in the GeoCETUS database of Centro Studi Cetacei onlus. The results show that the study area has a considerable marine biodiversity and a sustainable management is urgent for preserving the habitats and associated species. As first step the Nature 2000 network should be implemented by including the marine areas in front of each terrestrial SCIs and Natural Reserves, to create some marine protected areas along Teatina coast with the aim to match the socio-economic needs of the territory and the conservation of natural habitats. Our results only represent a first step and further socio-economic analysis should be implemented to establish an integrated management plan together with the regional authorities.