Work Package 4.1 Monitoring case studies in Italy Porto Recanati - Porto Potenza Picena Artificial Reef. Final report

This report describes the results of a monitoring programme carried out from June 2019 until June 2021 at the artificial reef of Porto Recanati - Porto Potenza Picena (central Adriatic Sea), located in the coastal area of the Marche region, 5.6 km offshore and at 13.5m depth. The reef was chosen as a Case study within the Adrireef project as it can be considered as representative of the several artificial reefs deployed along the Italian coast of the central-northern Adriatic sea. Monitoring of reefs is essential for the continuous evaluation of their structural and ecological evolution, hence their capacity of sustaining different economic activities, in line with the principles of Blue Economy. This activity, funded by the EU through the Interreg Italy-Croatia CBC programme, was initiated in recognition of the underexploited potential for sustainable use of some natural and artificial reefs located in the Adriatic Sea and is part of the Adrireef (Innovative exploitation of Adriatic Reefs in order to strengthen blue economy) project.