The problem

Traditional single-species fishery management has failed, partly because individual species are not isolated, but are integral part of the wider ecosystem. To overcome this shortcoming involves improving the responsiveness of European fishery management to the anthropogenic and natural factors affecting exploited populations. A holistic, ecosystem approach would help to assess the effects of a range of factors on the biological cycle of exploited stocks and the ecosystem that supports them.

Overview:

IN EX FISH aims to increase the responsiveness of fishery management to a range of anthropogenic and natural factors through a review of fish stock dynamics in four European sea areas: the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the West Iberian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It has four objectives:

• To review the effects of anthropogenic and natural factors on the dynamics of fish stocks
• To develop a framework for evaluating anthropogenic and natural factors on the dynamics of exploited
  fish species
• To review indicators of ecosystem status and identify effective ones
• To demonstrate the effect of integrating the IN EX FISH knowledge into fishery management

Contribution to policy development:

• IN EX FISH will improve the scientific understanding and robustness of advice presented to the EU and its institutions by ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) and GFCM (General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean)
• The development of eco-status indicators and management tools incorporating them into fishery management will contribute to the ongoing reform of the CFP and developing sustainable European fisheries
• Advice based on an ecosystem approach to fishery assessment will enable the EU and Member States to make better informed decisions for future fishery management

Project deliverables

• Annual project – January 2007
• Report: the effects of anthropogenic and natural factors on the dynamics of fish stocks – 
  June 2007
• Report: a generic set of robust ecosystem indicators – April 2007
• Regional seas reports – July 2008
• Final report: a synthesis of management options based on metrics analyses, methodology, and identification of the gaps and uncertainties in existing knowledge – December 2008
• End of project report – December 2008

Dissemination

• Regularly updated website hosting project information – April 2007
• Project newsletters and press releases – February and July 2006, February and July 2007, February, May and December 2008
• Project workshops – April 2006, September and November 2007, January 2008, April 2008, September and October 2008
• Public presentations – when possible
• Significant results in international peer-review journals – when possible
• Non-technical summary of results and findings – December 2008

Technical information

Project acronym: IN EX FISH
Project’s official full title: Incorporating extrinsic drivers into fisheries management
Research priority: 1.3. Modernisation and sustainability of fisheries, including aquaculture-based production systems
Specific webpage: Details not yet available
Proposal/contract no: 022710
Start date: 1 January 2006
Kick off meeting: January 2006
Completion date: December 2008
European Commission scientific officer: Jacques Fuchs, jacques.fuchs@ec.europa.eu

Coordinator:
Prof CLJ Frid
Name: University of Liverpool
Abbreviated name: ULIV
Address: School of Biological Sciences
University of Liverpool
P.O. Box 147
Liverpool L69 3BX
Country: United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)151 795 4382
Fax: +44 (0)151 795 4408

Partners

Name: Instituto Português de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar
Abbreviated name: INIAP-IPIMAR
Country: Portugal

Name: Marine Research Institute
Abbreviated name: MRI
Country: Iceland 

Name: Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research, Animal Sciences Group
Abbreviated name: RIVO
Country: The Netherlands       

Name: Heinrich-Heine Universität
Abbreviated name: UDUS
Country: Germany           

Name: Morski Instytut Rybacki – Sea Fisheries Institute
Abbreviated name: SFI
Country: Poland  

Name: University of Bari
Abbreviated name: UBARI
Country: Italy     

Name: University of Stockholm
Abbreviated name: USTOCK
Country: Sweden 

Name: Danish Institute for Fisheries Research
Abbreviated name: DIFRES
Country: Denmark