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Advancing basic biological knowledge and improving management tools for commercially important fish and other seafood species

 

Proposals should focus on an identified number of fisheries that are important for the fishing fleets of multiple EU countries and should respond to the priorities of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The proposals should review existing knowledge and perform multidisciplinary research to help close important knowledge gaps that have a significant impact on the management of key target and by-catch species and that currently limit the advice that relevant bodies can give. Research results should be able to be applied immediately to provide a more solid knowledge base and advice on fisheries management.

Proposals should cover one of the following geographical scopes:

1 [2016] Knowledge base and management tools for resilient and resource-efficient fisheries in waters of third countries with which the EU has signed sustainable fisheries partnership agreements and in international waters covered by regional fisheries management organisations other than the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

2 [2017] Strengthening the knowledge base for resilient and resource-efficient fisheries in EU waters and in international waters covered by the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 5 million would allow this challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Projects funded under this topic will by default participate in the Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020, with the option to opt-out, as described in the introduction.

More efficient fisheries management, based on science, is needed to support the continued need to manage European fisheries, the global rise in seafood demand and the need to maximise fish production sustainably. Our understanding of the biology and ecology of several fish and other seafood species is far from complete for stocks fished in European seas and in particular for multi-species fisheries. This also applies in some areas outside EU waters where EU fleets fish. Relevant stocks include species in international waters or in the waters of third countries with which the EU has signed sustainable fisheries partnership agreements. For species fished outside EU waters, the challenge often extends beyond gathering knowledge of biological characteristics to include research on management tools and appropriate stock assessment models.

To improve fisheries management under the Common Fisheries Policy, including outside of EU waters, proposals should:

  • Increase the knowledge base, share new findings, provide new tools and promote their uptake by end-users to more efficiently manage fish stocks of interest to the EU, both inside and outside EU waters.
  • Increase the long-term profitability of the EU fleet and increase the number of jobs in the fishing sector.
  • Improve market supply and food security in Europe through a significant, predictable and sustainable provision of seafood from all areas in which EU vessels operate.
  • Contribute to adjusting fishing exploitation to levels that ensure the maximum sustainable yield.
  • Improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work within the blue economy.