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In this context, the introduction of dynamic MPA boundaries (sensu Hyrenbach et al. 2000) for the
protection of fluctuating habitats should be considered if appropriate, as was recently proposed by
Shillinger et al. (2008) to protect leatherback turtles in the Central Eastern Pacific, and
implemented as Dynamic Area Management fishery closures by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries
Service to protect right whales from entanglements in fishing gear of Massachusetts (Johnson
2005).

A major challenge in applying the above described process resides in the lack of adequate data, in
particular due to the fragmentary ecological knowledge currently existing for part of the southern
and eastern portions of the Mediterranean basin. Suggested strategies to overcome constraints
related to limited data availability: (i) use stakeholder and expert knowledge, (ii) identify best
examples, and (iii) identify the best-known examples (Convention on Biological Diversity 2008).
When possible, in instances where there are few data or where data are inconsistent in different
portions of the Basin, the selection of proxies for some of the criteria may significantly help. Some
of these proxies are oceanographic, and reflect the strong ecological drivers that the physical
environment exerts on the ecological communities. Other proxies have to do with surmised
ecosystem condition, and the corollary degree of naturalness. This problem is addressed in
considerable detail in the “Guidelines for the establishment of the Natura 2000 network in the
marine environment” (Anon. 2006).

In conclusion, we list in Table 3-3 the eight proposed criteria for the selection of EBSAs in
the Mediterranean Sea, based on the SPA/BD Protocol criteria for SPAMIs harmonised with
other currently adopted criteria, most notably those adopted by CBD.