New EU project to protect rare Mediterranean clam

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The noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis), reaching lengths of up to one meter, is one of the largest clams in the world and is found exclusively in the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2016, disease-related mass die-offs have caused populations to collapse almost completely. Today, only a few thousand individuals survive in isolated lagoons, and the species has been classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The goal of the EU-funded LIFE PINNACARE project is to secure the long-term future of the species and its habitats. To this end, the project, led by the Catholic University of Valencia, brings together partners from six European countries for the implementation of targeted conservation measures at 32 sites within the Natura 2000 network.

Representing LMU is Professor Dušan Palić, Chair of Fish Diseases and Fisheries Biology. Together with his team, he is developing veterinary biosecurity protocols to minimize disease transmission during the relocation and breeding of noble pen shells for reintroduction programs and scientific studies. The researchers are also contributing their expertise in cutting-edge molecular diagnostics. In collaboration with other partners, they will investigate, among other things, the health of the clams, disease resistances, and potential treatment approaches.

With its involvement in the PINNACARE project, LMU is participating in an EU LIFE consortium project for the first time. EU LIFE projects contribute to the implementation, updating, and development of European environmental and conservation policy. The objective of the Nature and Biodiversity strand of the program is to protect and restore Europe’s nature by halting and reversing biodiversity loss.