Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Research Centre
The Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Research Centre operates in the fields of food hygiene and the health of marine species. Its main objectives focus on the protection of marine ecosystems through research, laboratory activities, diagnostics, technical support, and advisory services for stakeholders, public bodies and private organisations. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach within the One Health framework, the Centre also studies marine turtle populations and key commercially relevant marine species. It supports sector operators through targeted and innovative studies aimed at understanding and managing unusual phenomena, often linked to climate change, while ensuring product quality and safety in line with global sustainability goals.
The Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Research Centre (CREMP) is based in Termoli and includes in its staff highly specialised personnel with expertise in diagnostics and animal experimentation.
From an institutional perspective, the Centre collaborates with the competent authorities in the classification of production and relaying areas for live bivalve molluscs, through the analytical determinations required by official controls.
CREMP is a recognised scientific body by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MIPAAF) for support activities related to the assessment of available resources, contributing to the definition and implementation of conservation and management plans by the Mollusc Management Consortia (CO.GE.VO.) of Molise and Abruzzo, particularly concerning Chamelea gallina. Staff are also involved in supporting mollusc farming and assessing the consistency of fish stocks in response to the challenges posed by climate change, including the development and application of controlled reproduction techniques and marine species farming for production diversification and the active repopulation of coastal waters.
In the experimental field, the Centre's personnel have over ten years of experience in research into the effectiveness of depuration processes for the removal of microorganisms and microplastics from commercially important native bivalve molluscs.
The scientific support provided by the research group extends to the study of marine food webs, with a focus on toxic microalgae, through innovative analyses based on environmental DNA (eDNA) and analytical determinations for the detection of pathogens and emerging chemical contaminants, including microplastics, in the marine environment, with the aim of assessing health and environmental risks.
The CREMP facility is also equipped with a necropsy room for marine animals and a fully authorised fish facility for experimental purposes, managed in accordance with Legislative Decree 26/2024 by qualified and experienced staff.
CREMP personnel provide scientific support to the Regional Conference on Fisheries and Aquaculture (Regional Law 5 August 2004, No. 22), serve as members of the Advisory Committee on the use of exotic species in aquaculture at the Directorate General for Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture (MASAF), and act as scientific representatives on the topics covered by Descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, contributing to the achievement of the objectives set out in Directive 2008/56/EC, as transposed into Italian law by Legislative Decree 190/2010, within the framework of collaboration between ISPRA and IZS-Teramo. The Centre is also the Regional Contact Point for the network for stranded and distressed marine animals (DCA 67/2019) and the designated contact for both Abruzzo and Molise regions on marine turtle-related issues for the National Reference Centre for the Welfare, Monitoring and Diagnosis of Marine Turtle Diseases (C.R.E.T.A.M.).
CREMP is engaged in numerous research collaborations with other national and cross-border scientific institutions on shared topics aimed at supporting the economic and scientific development of the fisheries sector and promoting environmental protection. Recently formalised partnerships with scientific institutions belonging to the National Health Prevention System (SNPS) and the National Environmental Protection System (SNPA) – such as ISPRA, ISS, and ARPA – are aimed at adopting guidelines to harmonise policies and strategies implemented by the institutions involved, in a planetary health perspective.
- + - Head
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Eliana Nerone
Head
Biologist with a specialisation in marine biology and oceanography. Since 2001, she has been awarded research fellowships and grants within academic institutions, including a grant under the programme for the promotion of young researchers at NTNU, Trondheim Marine Systems Research Infrastructure (Norway).
Biologist with a specialisation in marine biology and oceanography. Since 2001, she has been awarded research fellowships and grants within academic institutions, including a grant under the programme for the promotion of young researchers at NTNU, Trondheim Marine Systems Research Infrastructure (Norway).
She later specialised in Applied Nutritional Sciences, and since 2002 has worked at the Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Research Centre of the Istituto Zooprofilattico of Teramo, conducting research in the fields of fisheries and aquaculture. Since 2024, as a senior biologist involved in research, she has coordinated the Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries Research Centre in Termoli.
She has served as head of operational units in research projects focused on the depuration capacity of bivalve molluscs from microorganisms and microplastics, as well as on biomarkers and the health status of Caretta caretta. She has contributed to national research projects on experimentation and welfare of marine organisms, and to international initiatives in the context of cross-border cooperation.
Since 2022, she has been the scientific coordinator of the ACeS project – “Water, Climate and Health: from environmental protection of water resources to access and safe use” – funded by the Ministry of Health under the Complementary National Plan. The project focuses on the identification of emerging contaminants in water, sediments and molluscs, with a view to updating current legislation and managing environmental challenges also related to climate change.
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Realistic environmental exposure of microplastics in European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis: evaluation of accumulation and depuration under controlled conditions and molecular assessment of a set of reference genes
Federica Pizzurro, Eliana Nerone, Marco Di Domenico, Massimo Ancora, Luana Fiorella Mincarelli, Romolo Salini, Ludovica Di Renzo, Simone Fazio, Sara Recchi. Water 2025, in press
Exposure of Mytilus galloprovincialis to Microplastics: Accumulation, Depuration and Evaluation of the Expression Levels of a Selection of Molecular Biomarkers
Pizzurro F, Nerone E, Ancora M, Di Domenico M, Mincarelli LF, Cammà C, Salini R, Di Renzo L, Di Giacinto F, Corbau C, et al. Animals. 2024; 14(1):4
Genomic Characterization of Listeria monocytogenes and Other Listeria Species Isolated from Sea Turtles
Di Renzo L., De Angelis M. E., Torresi M., Mariani G., Pizzurro F., Mincarelli L. F., Esposito E., Oliviero M., Iaccarino D., Di Nocera F., Paduano G., Lucifora G., Cammà C., Ferri N., & Pomilio F. 2024. Microorganisms, 12(4), 817.
Dietary Preferences of Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) in Two Mediterranean Feeding Grounds: Does Prey Selection Change with Habitat Use throughout Their Life Cycle?
G. Mariani, F. Bellucci, C. Cocumelli, C. Raso, S. Hochscheid, C. Roncari, E. Nerone, S. Recchi, F. Di Giacinto, V. Olivieri, S. Pulsoni, M. Matiddi, C. Silvestri, N. Ferri, and Ludovica Di Renzo. 2023. Animals 13, no. 4: 654F
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