Perceived increases of fish species in the Mediterranean sea: data from a joint LEK initiative.

The dataset was collected with the the Mediterranean LEK initiative. The initiative was initially conceived by the international basin-wide monitoring program <em>CIESM Tropical Signals</em> (funded by the Albert II of Monaco Foundation) and subsequently adopted by the projects BALMAS (Ballast Water Management System for Adriatic Sea Protection, IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme; <em>FAO-AdriaMed</em> and <em>FAO-MedSudMed</em>. This action was recently supported by the Interreg Med Programme (Grant number Pr MPA-Adapt 1MED15_3.2_M2_337) 85% co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, which implemented the use of standard LEK protocols for Marine Protected areas and partially supported the writing of this publication. Data refers to self-reported trends of various fish species, which were regarded as increaseing by a sample of fishermen from various Mediterranean countries. Interviews were elicited from fishermen through semi-structured protocols (see Azzurro et al., 2011).