The European Commission's “30% by 2030" target aims to introduce spatial measures to protect the seabed. A key question is, how do we ensure that spatial measures are located in the correct place maximizing ecological and socio-economic aims? In addressing this question it is useful to determine the likely consequences on fisheries across various options set within the overlying 30 x 30 management objective.
In 2021 ICES provided the European Commission with advice (as a series of interactive maps and tables for many EU regions) on management scenarios to reduce mobile bottom-fishing disturbance to seabed habitats and how these could affect fisheries landings and their value. A key purpose of the advice was to inform the setting of threshold values for the environmental quality to be achieved for seabed habitats under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
The European Commission has now requested ICES to update its 2021 advice, using the latest data. WKD6STAKE will further develop the approach adopted in previous advice on trade-offs. It will identify and prioritize five analyses and associated management measures that can be used to easily communicate options (and trade-offs) to improve the health of the seafloor.
While the 2021 ICES advice to the European Commission only included areas for which data was available (Baltic, Celtic, North Sea and Bay of Biscay Iberian Coast) this year a focus will be to operationalize the assessment for many of the regions in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. As such input from experts directly involved in policy work will be particularly important at WKD6STAKE for the later (sub)regions (Mediterranean and Black Sea).
Another workshop in November, WKTRADE4 will further refine the 2021 estimates of landings and economic performance indicators of each fishery for the analysis.
Stakeholder engagement
WKD6STAKE is organized as a stakeholder workshop and aimed at experts who have a policy role or interest in balancing spatial management of fisheries and conservation/sustainable use.
Guiding questions that stakeholders will provide input on:
- are the outputs of the model's five management scenarios (i.e. the html reports for each region) what you would expect?
- if not, where are the key issues to address?
- what advantages are there in letting the model choose the areas over marine managers applying criteria for choosing areas.
- If there are additional criteria that help the fishing industry, what are they?
- are we expressing costs correctly?
- is the spatial scale of the output suitable (for environmental policies, for fisheries management)?
- are there additional parameters / considerations in the model that require addition?
- how do we identify other sources of squeeze of the fishing footprint? - telling the difference between de facto exclusion or multi-use areas
- displacement – how can we capture this – what parameters do you think drive relocation?
Practical information
The workshop begins at 10:00 CET on both days. Participation is limited to 40 persons, with preference given to those directly involved in policy work to balance spatial management of fisheries with conservation/sustainable use, and who can commit to being active participants during the whole workshop.
ICES regards stakeholders as those who affect or are affected by a decision, process, or action of ICES, and the workshop will help to inform development of advice products and services, consistent with the objectives of ICES Stakeholder Engagement Strategy.
Registration
Please register your interest by sending a message to MacKenzie Kermoade at ICES Secretariat or by filling out this form.
Note: If the workshop is oversubscribed, ICES reserves the right, in consultation with the workshop chairs, to select the final workshop participants based on their expertise, gender and geographical distribution.
