Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Marine geohazards pose a significant threat to the European coastal population and to the development of the Blue Economy. This Policy Brief summarizes the priorities from the EMB Position Paper 26 "Marine geohazards: Safeguarding society and the Blue Economy from a hidden threat" and points towards relevant policy actions that would ensure the development of effective risk-mitigation and science-based management practices and policies, thereby contributing to protect coastal population and economic activities at sea from marine geohazards.

Abstract Data and metadata products based on intensive terrestrial gravity measurements covering the Belgian territory have been established compliant to the new ISO19115‐1 profile for gravity‐related data. A short historical introduction on gravity measurements on the Belgian territory is presented, starting with the first gravity measurement in 1892. This paper focuses on gravity data acquired after 1971, which marks the adoption of IGSN71 as a reference for the world network by the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). Next to a complete dataset containing all Belgian gravity data, the available gravity data were reduced to the corresponding measurement campaign, enabling determination of specific metadata (e.g. used gravimeter, tide system parameters, time of acquisition, etc.). New gravity and spirit levelling measurements were executed by the Royal Observatory Belgium and the National Geographic Institute (Federal Mapping Agency) to validate the g‐value at the historical reference base station ‘Carte du Ciel’ in Brussels. Taking into account the instrumental errors and the varying ground water content, the retrieved data are validated and approved for use in further research.

Abstract Fisher's knowledge offers a valuable source of information to run parallel to observed data and fill gaps in our scientific knowledge. In this study we demonstrate how fishers' knowledge of historical fishing effort was incorporated into an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) model of the Irish Sea to fill the significant gap in scientific knowledge prior to 2003. The Irish Sea model was fitted and results compared using fishing effort time-series based on: (i) scientific knowledge, (ii) fishers' knowledge, (iii) adjusted fishers' knowledge, and (iv) a combination of (i) and (iii), termed “hybrid knowledge.” The hybrid model produced the best overall statistical fit, capturing the biomass trends of commercially important stocks. Importantly, the hybrid model also replicated the increase in landings of groups such as “crabs & lobsters” and “epifauna” which were poorly simulated in scenario (i). Incorporating environmental drivers and adjusting vulnerabilities in the foraging arena further improved model fit, therefore the model shows that both fishing and the environment have historically influenced trends in finfish and shellfish stocks in the Irish Sea. The co-production of knowledge approach used here improved the accuracy of model simulations and may prove fundamental for developing ecosystem-based management advice in a global context.

Integrated management of the marine environment requires a holistic understanding of marine ecosystems, rather than focusing on single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. Marine ecosystem models are an important analytical approach to: integrate knowledge, data, and information; improve understanding on ecosystem functioning; and complement monitoring and observation efforts. They also offer the potential to predict the response of marine ecosystems to future scenarios and to support the implementation of ecosystem-based management of our seas and ocean. Europe has an excellent capability in Marine Ecosystem Modelling and these are being increasingly used as a tool for ecosystem management. However, there remains a mismatch between scientific research and what policy makers need to know. EMB Future Science Brief 4 examines current state-of-the-art in Europe and beyond and recommends key areas where marine ecosystem modelling capability could be strengthened, including ways to better connect models, observations and societal needs.

Les acteurs du monde professionnel sont aux prises avec toute une serie de reglementations, d'exigences (budgetaire, organisationnelle, juridique, etc.) qui peuvent parfois entrer en tension les unes avec les autres et, par rebond, favoriser ou gener l'insertion dans l'emploi des personnes handicapees. Dans ce contexte reglementaire et organisationnel complexe, comment peut-on prendre des decisions equitables, a savoir des decisions qui soutiennent l'emploi des personnes handicapees tout en respectant des principes de justice et d'egalite entre personnes non handicapees et personnes en situation de handicap ?

The CFP reform of 2013 was more far-reaching than any of the previous ones. The introduction of a ban on discarding, the regionalisation process, the introduction of the notion of Maximum Sustainable Yield before 2020 as the long-term objective of the policy were the main changes. The external policy was given, for the first time, policy objectives and principles. The market policy was simplified and adapted to provide European consumers with better information to allow them to be active actors in the CFP by making the right choices. The structural policy was revamped to be a more effective instrument to deliver the objectives of the reformed CFP, including a significant tightening of the conditions by operators and Member States to have access to the European funds.

Abstract Simmonds, E. J., Döring, R., Daniel, P., and Angot, V. 2011. The role of fisheries data in the development evaluation and impact assessment in support of European fisheries plans. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1689–1698. The European Commission has two formal requirements for developing multi-annual management plan policies: evaluation of the past performance of existing plans and impact assessments (IAs) of the potential benefits of new proposals. The new policies require the evaluation of fishery management in terms of three specific criteria: (i) effectiveness, i.e. the best method to achieve the objectives; (ii) efficiency, the cost-effectiveness, and proportionality; and (iii) consistency, i.e. limiting trade-offs across economic, social, and environmental domains. To develop policy, there is a need to collect relevant information, then to conduct appropriate analyses that provide documentation to support the policy objectives. This paper discusses the data requirements for good environmental, economic, and social understanding of fishery dynamics and management, describing how fishery data are currently linked to the analytical and management evaluation process using examples from 2009 and 2010. The type of information currently used is considered, along with the timetable of data availability, and its effect on historical evaluation and IAs, which are now formally required when any changes to legislation are proposed in the European Union, including following stakeholder consultation. The possibilities and future needs for such data are discussed.