Areas of interest of the Institute of Sea Fisheries (SF)
Fish stock assessment and biological monitoring in EU waters, in the North Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean
The Institute of Sea Fisheries (SF) assesses and evaluates the long-term utilisation of the living resources of the North Sea, the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean both qualitatively and quantitatively. Data are collected both by means of domestic and foreign research vessels as well as on commercial fishing vessels. Those data are analyzed in close collaboration with other European and overseas fishery research institutions, in international assessment working groups and advisory committees of ICES, the EU and other regional and international fisheries organisations and marine conventions.
The Institute of Sea Fisheries regularly compiles biological and economic assessments on the state of exploited marine resources in EU waters and those waters which are utilised by the German fishing fleet.
Economics of the fishing sector
The Institute of Sea Fisheries integrates biological and economic models to optimize future harvest. To achieve this, economic utility functions are used that are constrained by biological boundary conditions (e.g. fleet dynamics; price/cost, supply/demand, risk, loss and utility functions; monetary evaluation of ecosystem parameters; assessment and review of the efficacy of technical and political regulations).
Furthermore, the SF develops the scientific basis for an evaluation of different states and overall concepts of the commercial fishery and coastal regions. As commercial fisheries must adapt dynamically to changing conditions (e.g., fish stocks, technological evolution, economic developments, societal requirements), the Institute of Sea Fisheries provides decision support regarding alternative economic and political actions. To draw conclusions and predict the future development of fisheries (fleets plus stocks) under different scenarios, reactions of the fishing fleet caused by adapting specific components (such as number of vessels, vessel size, fishing capacity, number of jobs) and its feedback on the resource are analysed and modelled. Likewise SF economists analyse the price situation and the level of market demand for fish products based on the knowledge gained from extensive monitoring of the economic situation of the fishery and its neighbouring commercial sectors.
Effects of different spatial needs on fish assemblages and fisheries in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea
The Institute of Sea Fisheries collects data and analyzes effects of human activities on fish assemblages and the biodiversity of exploited marine ecosystems. The increasing spatial needs by new users of the German EEZ, which compete or are potential competitors with the fishery, such as wind turbines, sand and gravel extraction, gas and nature conservation demands (FFH areas, MPAs), require considerable advice to support the national legislation provided by federal agencies and state agencies (e.g., BSH, BfN, mining offices).
This development is further supported by the increasing impact of political guidance and legislation of the EU, such as the ?Marine Strategy? and the ?Water Framework Directive?, which attempt to amalgamate the differing interests of fishermen, other users and marine environmentalists.
Coordination of the requirements of the EU Data Collection Regulation (DCR)
The Institute of Sea Fisheries coordinates data collection within the auspices of the EU Data Collection Regulation. The institute closely cooperates with the Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries and the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food in this regard. The increasing demand by the EU with respect to the DCR requires new concepts and new detailed investigations, such as the inclusion of the ecosystem approach to management.
Management models, fisheries oceanography and climate change
The Institute of Sea Fisheries investigates the effects of climate and oceanographic variability on the distribution, abundance and productivity (i.e. growth, reproduction, recruitment success) of fish stocks. Climate and the abundance of fish stocks are often closely correlated. Oceanographic and climate data thus play an important role in modelling fisheries data in an ecosystem framework.
In the near future, new modelling approaches will support or replace those models which are currently being used to predict the dynamics of fish stocks. These models will specifically investigate the effects of the complex fisheries regulations on stocks and their well being with an aim to better regulate mixed fisheries with more than one target species.
Hydro-acoustic investigations
Stock size and demography of large pelagic fish stocks (such as herring and redfish) in the North Sea, the Baltic and the North Atlantic are assessed by ICES standardized hydro-acoustic methods. The Institute of Sea Fisheries is also developing new hydro-acoustic methodology and models to better estimate pelagic fish stocks.
Management of fishing effort
In order to prevent over-exploitation of stocks, fishing capacity has been regularly adjusted to fluctuating fish stock sizes. The Institute of Sea Fisheries is continuously analysing catch and effort information (logbooks, VMS) of German fishing vessels. These data constitute a part of an international effort to predict stock dynamics and yield. Risk assessments form the basis for either evaluating the utility of long-term recovery and management plans (i.e. fishing fleet based management) in a biological and economic context or for developing new precautionary approaches to management.
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