ARE LEPTOMETRA PHALANGIUM (ECHINODERMATA, ANTEDONIDAE) BEDS NURSERY HABITATS FOR HAKE IN THE STRAIT OF SICILY?

Data collected during two trawl survey programs carried out in Autumn (GRUND) and Spring/Summer (MEDITS) were used to investigate relationship between abundance of hake and crinoid beds made up by Leptometra phalangium in the Strait of Sicily. Results showed no evident selection of crinoid beds by hake recruits differently from what observed in the North-central Tyrrhenian Sea.