A European project
for Pinna nobilis

The project

On 1st October 2021 LIFE PINNA, the European project set up to save the fan mussel, Pinna nobilis, kicked off.

The largest bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean Sea, a species that lives only in our seas and plays a precious role in coastal ecosystems, is critically endangered after an epidemic decimated its population in 2016.

News

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LIFE Pinna photo contest, 2023 edition

May 5, 2023
The second edition of the "Life among the reef" photo contest is now open for…

New citizen science effort

April 20, 2023
On 10 May, LIFE PINNA with PADI, Outbe and the IMC Foundation in a webinar…

Two months after the arrival of Atrina fragilis, survival is 100 per cent

February 24, 2023
It was early December when nine individuals of Atrina fragilis were brought to the CNR…

The Species

Already present in our seas 20 million years ago, Pinna nobilis, is the biggest bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean. From the Strait of Gibraltar to the Black Sea, there are no more majestic ones: this precious giant of the invertebrate fauna, in fact can even live up to 45 years and grow in a wonderful shell of over 120 centimetres, generously covered with scale and micro-organisms. 

Lives only in the Mediterranean

It is also known as “sea castanet”…

From collecting to protected species

In the past this species has attracted the attention of shell collectors and collectors of byssus…

The deadly epidemic

Starting from 2016, in fact, there was a sudden mass mortality…

Areas of intervention

Coordinating beneficiary

Associated beneficiaries