This workshop (28
February – 3 March 2017) will build on earlier ICES work on an EU
request for guidance on how pressure maps of fishing intensity contribute to an assessment of the state of seabed habitats (advice and workshop report).
Maps of seabed
habitat will be combined with those of fishing intensity for
assessing the state of seabed habitats. Using a suite of methods, the
workshop will prepare examples (e.g. Baltic Sea, North Sea, and
Celtic Sea) at the scale of MSFD (sub)regions to include area
impacted by bottom fishing. The workshop will look at how the overall
modelled impact indicator scores differ and use ground truth datasets
where possible. Evaluation will also take place on what constitutes a
good indicator in the context of the MSFD for assessing Descriptor 6
(D6) on seafloor integrity and Descriptor 1 (D1) on habitats.
Proposed indices
from WKBENTH will be used to demonstrate trade-offs between benthic
impacts and fisheries landings or revenue in another ICES workshop
WKTRADE at the end of March. To ensure the work remains relevant in a
management context and supports ongoing work of the Regional Sea
Conventions, a stakeholder workshop (WKSTAKE) will be held on 23
March.
