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Content archived on 2024-06-18

Assessment of the interaction between corals, fish and fisheries, in order to develop monitoring and predictive modelling tools for ecosystem based management in the deep waters of Europe and beyond

Objective

In 2006, the UN General Assembly Resolution (61/105) called upon fisheries management organisations worldwide to: i) assess the impact of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems, ii) identify/map vulnerable ecosystems through improved scientific research/data collection, and iii) close such areas to bottom fishing unless conservation and management measures were established to prevent their degradation. In European deep waters, in addition, there is now a need to establish monitoring tools to evaluate the effectiveness of closed areas for the conservation of biodiversity and fish and their impact on fisheries. Currently the tools necessary to achieve these management goals are wholly lacking. CoralFISH aims to support the implementation of an ecosystem-based management approach in the deep-sea by studying the interaction between cold-water coral habitat, fish and fisheries. CoralFISH brings together a unique consortium of deep-sea fisheries biologists, ecosystem researchers/modellers, economists and a fishing industry SME, who will collaborate to collect data from key European marine eco-regions. CoralFISH will: i) develop essential methodologies and indicators for baseline and subsequent monitoring of closed areas, ii) integrate fish into coral ecosystem models to better understand coral fish-carrying capacity, iii) evaluate the distribution of deepwater bottom fishing effort to identify areas of potential interaction and impact upon coral habitat, iv) use genetic fingerprinting to assess the potential erosion of genetic fitness of corals due to long-term exposure to fishing impacts, v) construct bio-economic models to assess management effects on corals and fisheries to provide policy options, and vi) produce as a key output, habitat suitability maps both regionally and for OSPAR Region V to identify areas likely to contain vulnerable habitat. The latter will provide the EU with the tools to address the issues raised by the UNGA resolution.

Call for proposal

FP7-ENV-2007-1
See other projects for this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF GALWAY
EU contribution
€ 600 323,21
Address
UNIVERSITY ROAD
H91 Galway
Ireland

See on map

Region
Ireland Northern and Western West
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Administrative Contact
Jacinta Thornton (Dr.)
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (17)