​​​​​​​​​This workshop uses available VMS, STECF FDI and AER economic data to operationalize estimates of landings and economic performance indicators of each fishery. Such information is required to better evaluate measures to reduce impact of fisheries on seafloor habitats. Outputs will be used to update previous ICES advice in 2021 to the European Commission (DGENV) on how  management  scenarios  to  reduce  mobile  bottom  fishing  disturbance  on  seafloor  habitats affect fisheries landing and value. 

The 2021 ICES advice was presented as a series of easily accessible interactive figures and tables for EU waters separate for each ecoregions. This advice highlighted that management measures and fisheries actions can reduce impacts of mobile bottom-contacting gears on seafloor habitats. It also indicated that a large fraction of fisheries landings and revenue are obtained from a relatively small part of the area fished. This finding underscores a potential management option that reduces fishing impacts on the seabed with a relatively small cost to the fisheries.

While the 2021 ICES advice only included areas for which data was available (Baltic, Celtic, North Sea and Bay of Biscay Iberian Coast), this year ICES will focus on operationalizing the assessment for many of the regions in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Thus, involvement and input to WKTRADE4 from experts working with such data in the Mediterranean and Black Sea will be particularly important.

The aims of WKTRADE4 are fivefold:

1. further operationalize linking of available VMS, STECF FDI and AER economic data
2. implement these findings, beyond those implemented in the 2021 ICES advice
   
3. demonstrate the applicability of proposed approaches for estimating spatial fisheries performance indicators (including revenue, costs, landings, value added, etc.) at local, habitat and regional scales and for different gear/metiers given the present data availability and cross regional applicability).
4. include all European marine regions, in particular the Mediterranean and Black Seas, to the extent possible;
5. for the regions represented document opportunity and limitations of spatial fisheries performance indicators (including revenue, costs, landings, value added, etc.) and/or of the input data needed and the capacity to link to benthic impact

The above outcome will be used in a technical workshop to develop fisheries-benthic impact trade-off assessments for different marine ecoregions and sub-regions in the European Union. These assessments will inform managers about the interlinkages, and therefore trade-offs, between fishing footprints, benthic impacts and the landings, revenue, and contribution margin of the fisheries.

Registration

Participation will be limited to 40 with preference given to those able to attend physically and/or have the necessary analytical skills (e.g. with Github, R scripts) and familiarity with the work being done in e.g. ICES working group on Economics (WGECON), and/or whom have worked with STECF FDI data or within the project ABIOMMED and commit to being active participants during the whole workshop.

Please register your interest by sending a message to MacKenzie Kermoade at ICES Secretariat. Please inform us if you will participate in person or online.

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.​