27^th March, 2012, Rome. The Mediterranean Regional Advisory Council gave positive support to GAP2 case studies partners from Malta, Spain and Italy.

At a special half day session, coordinator Steve Mackinson and case study science and stakeholder partners Saša Raicevich & Simone Serra, Joan B. Company & Pere Brull and Jonathan Cassar & Paul Piscopo,presented their work on research in the Mediterranean Region.

Encouraged by the research activities, the RAC expressed a keen interest to keep in touch with the partners work.  Supporting the RACs efforts to engage the commission and member states in dialogue on regionalisation of the CFP, GAP2 agreed to facilitate a ½ day debate at the next meeting on 19^th April in Marseille, France.

The brown shrimp Crangon crangon, has made it to Iceland. The increasing abundance of this species in Icelands’ coastal waters is likely to be caused by rising water temperatures.

An article in the Hamburg Abendblatt, a German newspaper, reported the story on 8th March. You can read the full and original article (in German) Nordseekrabben erobern Islands Küsten – Hamburger Abendblatt.

For all our English readers – a synopsis is below.

“Normally distributed across the North Sea, the brown shrimp is an invasive threat to icelandic fisheries. First spotted in 2003, the shrimp was introduced to Iceland by larvae being transported in ballast water; as a result, the species is now found in a number of locations in the south and east of the country.

Problems for native speceis are already beginning to show. Because the adult Crangon eat young plaice and sole, the abundance of juvenile (under 22mm length) plaice and sole is lowest in those areas where Crangon is present.

The increasing abundnace of Cragon crangon since 2006 is probably due to rising water temperatures around the Icelandic coast over the last 15 years. A study this summer will determine whether Crangon has spread to the previsuosly unoccupied North and East of Iceland. Unfortunatly, due to the shallow tidal flats around iceland, a commercial fishery in Crangon is not possible.

Thanks to rising water temperatures, the shrimp can now live and multiply in Iceland. Researchers are studying whether they threaten ancestral species”.

Map of Galicia case study area

It has been just over three months since we started our GAP2 case study, and one month since we started collecting data.

At the beginning of the project, several boats agreed to participate and provide detailed information about the fishery within our study area in the Ria De Arosa. And then during our initial workshops with the fishermen, we reached an agreement that the fishers would use data loggers to record their daily movements and log books to record their catch and effort.

Workshop of scientists and fishermen in the Brotherhood of Cambados.

Since beginning to monitor the fishery, we have encountered and overcome numerous teething problems. Technical assistance has been provided with the fishing Guilds Aguiño, Cambados and Ribeira, and we are already working together on addressing how the fishermen can more easily incorporate using the log books in their daily work. Fortunately (apart from the engine failure of one of the participants), there haven’t been any more serious problems yet!

Next update coming soon…

On 22nd February, at a meeting of the North Sea Demersal working group, Steven Mackinson (Cefas) presented ‘Ideas on working toward ecosystem-based Long Term Management Plans for mixed fisheries’. This provided the working group with an update on ideas for using ecosystem models to help understand some of the multi-species and fisheries trade-offs involved in developing Long Term Management Plans for mixed fisheries.

Because of the complexity of the issues, biological processes, models and decisions – learning how to effectively communicate such research goes hand-in-hand with developing research methods. Since the last meeting with the Regional Advisory Council in September 2011, Cefas have been working developing ways to take account of uncertainty in ecosystem models and to show how by doing so, decision makers are better informed when evaluating alternative management options.

The Demersal Working Group were encouraged that such research would be helpful in developing management options for mixed fisheries. The group therefore agreed to convene a mixed fishery LTMP focus group, chaired by Mike Park (Scottish Whitefish Producers Association), which will work closely with the Cefas-led case study andwith researchers participating in the new EU FP7 project MYFISH. The focus group will allow scientists and stakeholders to closely work together on the concepts, methods and novel ideas that are needed to address this complex issue.

Steven Mackinson’s presentation can be found here.

“The outcomes of the GAP2 case studies will highlight the need to develop the structures, funding routes and decision making processes that help promote these ways of working”.

“The most significant indicator is that every single partnership from GAP1 has come over to GAP2. They must feel there is value in continuing”.

Moreover, the presence of several PhDs working on GAP2, and conference travel grants for students, demonstrate the project’s commitment to developing young researchers.

GAP2 has a greater focus on the implementation of the participatory research actions planned in the first phase. In the words of Science in Society, the project implements ‘Mobilisation and Mutual Learning (MML)’ actions to encourage successful collaboration, as Mackinson explains:

“Mobilisation is getting people together, but it’s also about mobilising their knowledge and skills. Doing participatory research is an example of mobilising people’s knowledge and bringing it together. It facilitates shared learning”.

Beyond the day-to-day research activities, specific and practical shared-learning opportunities will be created. These workshops will be designed to meet the needs of those in attendance. It’s a conscious effort to focus on what matters to the partners.

“The vital thing,” Mackinson underlines, “is to create a meaningful and focused opportunity where there is an incentive for both sides to participate”.

Mackinson notes that in a number of the case studies, the work of the project really brought about a shift in the existing paradigm:

“The Italian case study was particularly complicated because of the political structure and different agendas of the fishing organisations there. It was extremely challenging. It involved a huge effort from the scientists and the stakeholders to really get engaged and what emerged was a really successful multi-level debate. Similarly, the Maltese study was a great success. There was a high level of scepticism shown by the fishermen in regard to working with the scientists when work first started there, but GAP1 provided the opportunity for the fishing organisations to sit down with the researchers to discuss and share problems for the first time.”