Towards Sustainable Fisheries in the Mediterranean: Local Insights and Global Challenges from the Corsica Island Case Study

Speaker: Dr. Eric Durieux
Associate Professor, University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli (UCPP)

The Mediterranean Sea, the largest semi-enclosed sea in the world, is both a biodiversity hotspot and a critical zone for addressing pressing marine challenges related to overexploitation of fishery resources, marine pollution, invasive species and climate change. Corsica Island (NW Mediterranean) stands out for the relatively good ecological status of its coastal habitats and its low fishing pressure mainly represented by small-scale fishery. A comprehensive, holistic and integrative framework in fisheries ecology has been developed at the scale of Corsica to support sustainable fisheries management and ecosystem conservation. This approach investigates the complexity of the marine ecosystem through multiple methodologies applied across different levels of biological organization, including life history analysis and ecophysiology, population structure and dynamics, habitat suitability, movement ecology, larval dispersal and connectivity, fisheries characterization and quantification and finally, ecosystem modeling. This presentation highlights how combining local-scale ecological insights with broader global perspectives can enhance our understanding and forecasting of marine ecosystems and fisheries under climate change. It aims to demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary approaches and ecological modeling in reimagining the future of oceans and fisheries.

Speaker bio:
Eric D.H. Durieux is an Associate Professor in marine fisheries ecology at the University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli (UCPP), where he also coordinates the Master’s program in Integrated Coastal Management and Fisheries Resources Valorization. His research focuses on the ecology of marine fishes, particularly in the Mediterranean, with an emphasis on life history traits, population dynamics, spatial ecology, fisheries characterization and ecological modelling. In 2025, Eric was awarded the France-Canada Mourou/Strickland Mobility Grant and is currently visiting the Sea Around Us to finalize the reconstruction of Corsica Island’s marine fisheries catches since 1950. This collaborative effort—between the Sea Around Us, UCPP, the Environmental Agency of Corsica, STARESO, and local experts—leverages two decades of fisheries monitoring surveys in Corsica. The project bridges local knowledge with global analytical frameworks to address critical data gaps in the Mediterranean, particularly concerning artisanal, industrial, and recreational fisheries, which are often underreported and poorly documented.

Eric’s academic path reflects a strong international orientation and a deep commitment to marine and fisheries ecology. He was born to a Corsican mother and a father from northern France, and grew up in Perpignan, on the Mediterranean coast. He began his studies in France, participated in a mobility program in Hawaii, and earned a Master’s from the University of Paris Sorbonne with internships in Australia and New Caledonia. He completed his PhD at the University of La Rochelle as an IFREMER fellow. Postdoctoral work followed in California and at IFREMER Nantes.

Since joining the University of Corsica in 2011, he has developed a multidisciplinary research program that integrates species- and ecosystem-level modelling to better understand and anticipate ecological changes in Corsica and the broader Mediterranean. Eric holds a Professorship degree in Fisheries and Marine Ecology. He has coordinated and contributed to over 20 research projects, authored or co-authored 50 peer-reviewed publications, and supervised four PhD theses and more than 30 Master’s students. He teaches courses in fisheries ecology, data analysis, and Mediterranean marine ecology at UCPP, and also leads a Fisheries Science course within the international MARRES Master’s program at the University Côte d’Azur in Nice.