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 was 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), 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 is particularly important.
The aims of WKTRADE4 are fivefold:
- further operationalize linking of available VMS, STECF FDI and AER economic data
- implement these findings, beyond those implemented in the 2021 ICES advice
- 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).
- include all European marine regions, in particular the Mediterranean and Black Seas, to the extent possible;
- 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 has 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 informs managers about the interlinkages, and therefore trade-offs, between fishing footprints, benthic impacts and the landings, revenue, and contribution margin of the fisheries.
