Cetacean Assessment, Monitoring and Management Strategy in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast sub-region

CetAMBICion

Project Summary

The CetAMBICion project seeks to respond to the need to reduce cetacean bycatch in EU fisheries, in particular in the Bay of Biscay and on the Iberian Coast, one of the threats to the survival of these protected species.

This objective is aligned with the objectives of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, and the Common Fisheries Policy.

CetAMBICion will address mortality rates, abundance, demographic characteristics, pattern distribution and range and habitat of cetaceans with the aim of improving monitoring, especially in relation to bycatch mortality, and investigating the effectiveness of different mitigation measures in the Bay of Biscay and on the Iberian coast. This will ultimately contribute to achieving Good Environmental Status (GES).

Cetacean Assessment, Monitoring and Management Strategy in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast sub-region

Start and End Date

01.03.2021 - 28.02.2023

Research Group

Fisheries, Biodiversity and Conservation

Coordinating Entity

Universidade do Algarve

CCMAR Coordinators

Jorge Manuel dos Santos Gonçalves

Funding agencies

Comissão Europeia

Total Budget

1250000.00 €

Website

Project Activities

The work carried out in CetAMBICion project is structured in six topic areas:

Review of MSFD second cycle reports and state-of the-art for cetaceans. The integrated review of the assessments made by the MS in the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast sub-region is the first step to enable the work proposed in this project. It should be the keystone to support sub-regional assessment of the extent to which GES has been achieved for this ecosystem component in addition to the establishment of new coordinated measures which consider the main threats affecting the Good Environmental Status (GES) of marine mammals in the sub-region;
Proposal of coordinated assessment and monitoring strategy for cetaceans. To develop the necessary techniques to implement, in the three countries, a coordinated working structure for the regional assessment and monitoring of cetacean species and their populations, suitable to provide key biological information still absent on a subregional scale;
Proposal of coordinated assessment and monitoring for cetacean bycatch. To analyse the bycatch sampling schemes currently implemented in this sub-region and propose a common coordinated strategy and protocol for the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast. This will be done considering the characteristics of the fleets in each country, the areas and fishing gear that pose the greatest risk, the different methodologies for monitoring bycatch, the GES evaluation methods and the calculation of thresholds for bycatch;
Effectiveness assessment of cetacean bycatch reduction strategies and fishing technical measures proposal. To provide the ‘State of the art’ of the bycatch reduction technical possibilities for the fisheries in the area by way of an in-depth review of information available for other projects and to perform a series of pilot studies onboard commercial fishing vessels and to assess the potential fisheries technical measures to the fisheries management including spatial move-on rules;
Dissemination of results, sectoral participation, and capacity building strategy. To ensure the legacy of the project and its dissemination, transferring the results and deliverables to key end-users and promoting their implementation;
Coordination among all the partners. To assure smooth running and effective management of the project by way of the establishment of clear guidelines and procedures for internal decision-making and communication; performing systematic monitoring of progress towards the achievement of the objectives; ensuring accountability and due diligence by the partnership towards all the contractual obligations, including timely and comprehensive reporting and delivery of the result.