Partners

HELLENIC CENTRE FOR MARINE RESEARCH (HCMR)

The Hellenic Centre for Marine Research is a governmental research organisation operating under the supervision of the GENERAL SECRETARIAT FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (GSRI) of the MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENTS. The HCMR comprises by three Research Institutes: The Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC), the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters (IMBRIW) and the Institute of Oceanography (IO). Under SEA4Future, HCMR will develop and implement: • Selective innovative fishing gears and devices to target invasive alien species • New Mediterranean Sea small pelagic fish models and will perform predictive scenarios • New sustainable value chains for IAS

Meet the Team

Thanos Gkanasos - Physical Oceanographer and environmental modelling specialist with 15+ years of experience in marine systems analysis, climate variability studies, and large-scale environmental data modelling. Proven track record in numerical ocean modelling, ecosystem simulations and satellite data analytics applied to marine forecasting, climate impact assessment, and environmental monitoring. Principal investigator in European research initiatives with experience in multidisciplinary collaboration, technical project delivery, and scientific data interpretation for decision making. Skilled in modelling complex environmental systems and translating scientific outputs into actionable insights for policy, sustainability, and industry applications.

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4818-5262

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Panagiota Peristeraki - is an Associate Researcher at HCMR (since 2003) with a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Crete. Her research focuses on large pelagic and demersal fish, fisheries biology, and invasive marine species. She serves as Greece’s National Coordinator for the Mediterranean International Trawl Survey (MEDITS), leads HCMR’s work on marine alien species under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, and coordinates large pelagic fish tagging programmes. She is an active member of ICCAT and the MEDITS Steering Committee, has contributed to numerous international research projects, and has published extensively on fisheries and invasive species, including the first identification of the invasive toxic fish Lagocephalus sceleratus in Crete.

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George Tserpes - Holds a position of Research Director in the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). He holds a BSc degree in Biology from the University of Patras, Greece (1981), an MSc degree in Marine Biology from the University of Wales, UK (1983) and a Ph.D degree in Applied Biology from the University of Crete, Greece (1996). His main research interests refer to the Biology, Ecology and Dynamics of fish populations. He has coordinated/participated in more than 70 National and International projects and has authored/coauthored more than 180 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and conference proceedings. He has participated in several International Scientific Groups including the Scientific, Technical and Economic committee for Fisheries (STECF) of EU and various STECF Sub-committees. Currently, he is the international coordinator of the Mediterranean International Trawl Survey (MEDITS) and since 2003 he coordinates the Mediterranean Swordfish Working Group of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Since 2019 is also coordinating the Working Group on Stock Assessment of Demersal Species (WGSAD) of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). He is actual member of the STECF. He teaches in the post-graduate program “Environmental Biology” of the Biology department of the University of Crete and has co-supervised 25 MSc and PhD theses.

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9052-4091

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Stylianos Somarakis - Senior Researcher at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) and an expert in fisheries ecology, fish reproduction, and ichthyoplankton. He holds MSc and PhD degrees in Marine Biology from the University of Crete and has extensive experience in fisheries management, ecosystem modelling, and pelagic food webs. Dr. Somarakis has coordinated and contributed to numerous international research projects, served in leading roles within GFCM, NAFO, and the European COST Action on fish reproduction, and is a member of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (DG MARE). He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and serves as Chief Editor of Marine Ecology Progress Series.

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Kostas Tsiaras – Is a research scientist at HCMR since 2001. He has worked on numerical modeling of hydrodynamics and biogeochemical processes, participating in several multi-disciplinary EU and national programs (DANUBS, MFSTEP, POSEIDON-II, AQUA-PLANNER/INTERREG III-A, SESAME, ECOOP, MEECE, REPRODUCE, MEDEX). Kostas Tsiaras received his master’s degree in Physical Oceanography from the University of Athens, Greece. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Athens, Greece.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4941-9190

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Georgios Eleftheriou - Is a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute of Oceanography of HCMR, working on multi-disciplinary numerical modeling within the marine ecosystem modeling group and environmental radioactivity as member of the Marine Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory. His current research focuses on hydrodynamic, biogeochemical and particles dispersion (plastics and radionuclides)modeling, data assimilation techniques and ocean systems simulation experiments. His scientific interests extended to radioactivity measurements in the marine environment (in-situ and laboratory gamma-ray spectrometry, radiation mapping and monitoring, nuclear physics instrumentation, Monte Carlo simulations) and their applications in oceanography and geosciences (sediments dating, water masses identification, submarine groundwater discharges studies, sediment dynamics evaluation, pre-seismic radon signals, radioecology). With15 years of research experience, he has contributed to several EU and national programs (e.g., LANSEALOT, NAUTILOS, ΕΒΔΜ34, HELPOS, RADIOSCOPIO, BLACKSEAHAZNET, EMRES), participated in over 40 seminars, workshops and training, and taken part in multiple field surveys. He has 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 5 book chapters and more than 80 contributions to national and international conferences. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Radioactivity (2014), an a M.Sc. in Physics and Technological Applications (2011) and a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences (2005) from the National Technical University of Athens, as well as a post graduate specialization diploma in Environmental Management (2007) form Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania. He is a member of the Hellenic Nuclear Physics Society.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8090-5090

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George Lazarakis - Is a research scientist at HCMR since 2004. He has worked on benthopelagic, large pelagic and alien species, participating in several EU and national programs. He has a master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from the Mediterranean University of Crete, Greece. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Ichthyology from the Technological Educational Institute, Messolongi, Greece.

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