The problem

European fisheries management is under pressure, with stakeholder confidence shaken in existing assessment and management models – which should include fleet interactions, as well as the impact of the environment on fisheries and vice versa. The challenge is to ensure that the best possible knowledge is synthesised and made available to decision-makers. New models are also required to communicate complex insights effectively to the increasing number of stakeholders involved in the decision-making process.

Overview:

EFIMAS will develop a robust framework within which to simulate and evaluate the biological and socio-economic consequences of a range of fishery management options and objectives. The project will:

• Use models that will run stochastic simulations incorporating data from selected EU fisheries
• Compare range of management options generated with the current management of the test fisheries
• Compare the performance of a range of management options under alternative management systems and objectives

Contribution to policy development:

• EFIMAS will provide more reliable scientific management advice to fishery managers, including robust management evaluation tool and framework driven by numerically defined harvesting rules
• The project will develop an evaluation framework of existing and new interactive fishery advice and management models that identify the socio-economic, as well as the biological, consequences of given management decisions
• The project will help restore the somewhat shaken trust of stakeholders by incorporating a wider range of variables to illuminate the decision-making process and make it more accessible to them

Project deliverables

• Review of present management and decision-making processes – April 2005
• Preliminary software package with documentation – October 2006
• Final software package with documentation – June 2007

Dissemination

• Project website launch – June 2004
• Mid-term reports and newsletters – October 2005, April 2007
• Final project reports and documentation – April 2008

Technical information

Project acronym: EFIMAS
Project’s official full title: Operational Evaluation Tools for Fisheries Management Options
Research priority: Modernisation and sustainability of fisheries, including aquaculture-based production systems
Specific webpage: http://www.efimas.org
Proposal/contract no: 502516
Start date: 1/4/2004
Kick off meeting: April 2004
Completion date: 31/3/2008
European Commission scientific officer: Tore Jakobsen (Tore.Jabobsen@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: J Rasmus Nielsen, Danish Institute for Fisheries Research
Abbreviated Name: DIFRES
Address: Jægersborgvej 64-66, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby
Country: Denmark
Tel: +45 3396 3300
Fax: +45 3396 3349
Website: www.dfu.min.dk

Partners

Name: Cen­tre for En­­vi­­ronment, Fis­he­ries and Aqua­­­culture Science
Abbreviated Name: CEFAS
Country: UK

Name: Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research
Abbreviated Name: RIVO
Country: Netherlands

Name: Institut Français de Recher­che pour l’Ex­ploi­tation de la Mer
Abbreviated Name: IFREMER
Country: France

Name: Fisheries Research Services
Abbreviated Name: FRS
Country: UK

Name: Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute
Abbreviated Name: FGFRI
Country: Finland

Name: Agricultural Research Centre – Sea Fisheries Department
Abbreviated Name: CLO-DvZ
Country: Belgium

Name: National Re­search Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries
Abbreviated Name: IPIMAR
Country: Portugal

Name: Institute of Marine Bio­logy of Crete
Abbreviated name: IMBC
Country: Greece

Name: National Centre for Marine Research
Abbreviated Name: NCMR
Country: Greece

Name: Marine Institute
Abbreviated Name: MarInst
Country: Ireland

Name: Institute of Marine Research
Abbreviated Name: IMR-No
Country: Norway

Name: Institute of Marine Re­search, Natio­nal Board of Fisheries, Sweden
Abbreviated Name: IMR-Se
Country: Sweden

Name: Swedish Nat. Board of Fishe­ries, Institute of Freshwater Research
Abbreviated Name: NBF
Country: Sweden

Name: Sea Fisheries Institute
Abbreviated Name: SFI
Country: Poland

Name: Instituto Tecnologico Pesquero y Alimentario
Abbreviated Name: AZTI
Country: Spain

Name: Institute for Fis­he­ries Manage­ment and Coas­tal Community Development
Abbreviated Name: IFM
Country: Denmark

Name: University of Portsmouth
Abbreviated Name: CEMARE
Country: United Kingdom

Name: Agricultural Economics Research Institute
Abbreviated Name: LEI
Country: Netherlands

Name: Danish Re­search Institute of Food Economics
Abbreviated Name: FOI
Country: Denmark

Name: Institute for Re­search in Eco­no­mics and Busi­ness Administration
Abbreviated Name: SNF
Country: Norway

Name: Isti­tuto Ricerche Economiche Pesa e Aquacoltura
Abbreviated Name: IREPA
Country: Italy

Name: Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
Abbreviated Name: IMPERIAL
Country:UK

Name: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas
Abbreviated Name: CSIC
Country: Spain

Name: Universitat de Barcelona
Abbreviated Name: U.Barcelona
Country: Spain

Name: Universidad de País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Abbreviated Name: U. Basque C.
Country: Spain

Name: Departamento de Economía y Empresa. Uni­versidad Pablo de Olavide
Abbreviated Name: UPO
Country: Spain

Name: University of Helsinki
Abbreviated Name: U.Helsinki
Country: Finland

Name: University of Newcastle
Abbreviated Name: UNEW
Country: UK