Horizon 2020 | SEAwise: Shaping ecosystem based fisheries management

SEAwise: Shaping ecosystem based fisheries management 

The EU-funded SEAwise project will address the need to increase benefits to fisheries while reducing ecosystem impacts under environmental change and increasing competition for space. The network of stakeholders, advisory bodies and scientists will improve stock productivity predictions using environmental metrics, density dependence, predation, stock health indicators and habitat extent. In addition, multispecies-multifleet models will provide ecosystem forecasts of the effect of fisheries management measures. SEAwise tools and courses for stakeholders and decision makers will ensure that these methods can be used directly in Mediterranean, Western European, North Sea and Baltic Sea waters. The predictions will inform an online advice tool highlighting stock- and fisheries-specific social and ecological effects and management trade-offs.

The SEAwise overall objective is to provide a fully operational approach for European Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management based on persistent networks and co- designed innovation.

SEAwise overcomes the four major challenges by addressing four specific objectives using state of the art risk assessment methodology:

1) Build a network of stakeholders, advisory bodies, decision makers and scientists to co-design key priorities and approaches to EBFM and to ensure SEAwise’s continued impact long after the project period.

2) Assemble a new knowledge base on European fisheries interactions with social and ecological systems that integrates scientist and stakeholder experience based knowledge.

3) Develop predictive models of fisheries interactions with social and ecological systems to evaluate, select and implement EBFM strategies across Europe accounting for changes in the environment and use of marine space.

4) Provide ready-for-uptake advice for EBFM for Mediterranean, western and northern European waters.

Official website project 

Partnership:
Athena – Research & Innovation Information Technologies, ATHENA RC – GREECE

Principal Investigator
Prof. Phoebe Koundouri

Team Member:
Lambros Lois

SEAwise has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101000318