Mediterranean Science Commission

[2] Two professors, the Italian Decio Vinciguerra and the German Otto Krümmel,[3] thought it would be useful for the fishing industry to promote oceanographic exploration of the Mediterranean Sea.

Based on Vinciguerra's proposal, the ninth International Geographical Union in Geneva endorsed the principle of a Commission in July 1908 and decided a committee should define the organization.

[4] The next meeting was held in Rome in February 1914, and endorsed the principle that all the countries bordering the Mediterranean and the Black Sea should be eligible for membership.

[12] Through its network of scientists, it can quickly detect changes and alert governments and others who must take action, and provide neutral and authoritative advice on issues related to marine ecosystems by ways of Monographs, reports, Congresses.

[14] At that time the Commission started to deliver morphometric maps of the Mediterranean seabed, based on modern imagery provided by multibeam swath.

Between 2013 and 2020 the CIESM JellyWatch program engaged an extensive survey of jellyfish outbreaks, monitored on a weekly basis in coastal waters from Morocco to the Black Sea.

[15] The Commission assumes a leading role in documenting in CIESM Atlases on Exotic Fishes, Crustaceans, Molluscs, Seaweeds the continuous arrival of tropical invaders in the Mediterranean Sea, mostly from Indo-Pacific origin, and tracks the status and routes of endangered species such as sharks, rays[16] and seabirds.

[23] Today the 23 Member States are: Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.