Abstract
The importance of an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management (EAFM) has been highlighted by the Directorate General MARE, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the International Water Center (IWC) and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (NAMMCO), among others. FAO has recently provided guidelines on EAFM, and stakeholders show increased interest in sustainable management, most obviously through the requests for certification of sustainable fishing. These requests arise due to pressure from consumers, advocacy groups, general societal awareness of limited resources and environmental concerns. It will develop assessment methods and a decision-support framework (DSF) for management of marine resources and thereby enhance the capacity to provide integrated assessment, advice and decision support for an EAFM. Enabling comparisons between relevant ‘what-if’ scenarios and their likely consequences, the DSF will support the implementation of the new common fisheries policy (CFP) and the marine strategy framework directive (MSFD). Learning from the experience of previous and on-going research, MareFrame integrates stakeholders at its core using a co-creation approach that combines analytical and participatory processes to provide knowledge that can be applied to policy-making, improving management plans and implementation of an EAFM. MareFrame liaises with other national and international research projects and focused on the management of marine living resources in Europe in a changing environment, taking a holistic view incorporating socio-economic and legislative issues.
Author(s): M. Golumbeanu, T. Zaharia, Gh. Radu, V. Maximov, M. Nenciu