Main outcomes of the 2019 Seminar on Fisheries Science
1. Insights gained from the projects presented: Climate change is already impacting ecosystems throughout the marine regions resulting in warming habitats, fish moving polewards, changes in primary production in the Arctic due to accelerated decline in sea ice, projected habitat losses for certain species. This underlines the need to respond to changes, notably in the long-term fisheries management strategies, and the key role for marine spatial planning to address the changes, including protection of climate refugia.
2. Identification of priority topics for research:
Ecosystems and climate change: Ecosystem research has to go beyond fisheries science. It has to incorporate development of knowledge and coherent management strategies including ecological, biochemical, economic and climate aspects, building on traditional knowledge and management approaches. Climate change and its effects, including on fish stocks, further underline the need for priority research addressing habitat destruction and changes, and mitigation research (e.g. tackling carbon foot print of the fishing industry), as well as specific modelling approaches such as environmental niche modelling.
Food from the oceans: In light of the food security challenges both in EU and globally, research and innovation on the potential for sustainable food production and new food products was identified as an urgent priority, in connection with research on the corresponding management challenges such further exploitation of the seas will pose. Aquaculture (including land-based activities) remains a priority topic in this context, with the environment dimension integrated in the research.
Fisheries governance and fisheries in the context of other marine activities: Research should focus on the human element in fisheries governance, in combination with further articulation of the science-to-policy process. Fisheries governance needs to enable operationalization of research and science results into the management. Conditions for creating trust between stakeholders need further investigation and innovative solutions should be developed in this context. Scientific and management capacity building, and intensification of the dialogue between scientists and managers need to be addressed as priorities. Research should also help to develop more consistent approaches on spatial planning, developing area-based tools that can respond to rapid ocean changes. The fisheries perspective should be integrated into other sectorial perspectives, with research focusing on how such integration can be beneficial throughout different sectors. Marine protection areas and strategies (in light of developing policy ambitions) also require further research.
3. Design and implementation of fisheries research under Horizon Europe and other funding mechanisms: Managers should ask the right questions for future needs. There should also be intensified co-design among policy makers, fishers and consumers (of fish products), in the development of the research programs. ‘Blue sky science’ should not be forgotten (in addition to research based more on the direct policy needs and objectives). Projects in fisheries should be the right size, oversizing undermines the quality of the projects. Attention should be given to shaping research funding in such a way that it becomes more attractive to scientists (career and recognition), notably also to increase participation of female scientists.