Assessment and Monitoring of the Fishery Resources and the Ecosystems in the Straits of Sicily – MedSudMed. he Straits of Sicily is one of the most important fishing areas of the Mediterranean Sea, where significant fleets operate with high fish production. Yet, the available knowledge on fishery resources and their ecosystems in the region is often scarce. The MedSudMed project was created to strengthen the national and regional research capacities and to promote scientific cooperation in the southern part of the central Mediterranean for the assessment and monitoring of fishery resources. The Project’s main objective is to improve the knowledge on fishery resources and their ecosystems – as a contribution to the development of responsible fisheries management – by supporting research activities related to the interactions between demersal and small pelagic fishery resources and biotic and abiotic environmental factors.