Progress report for
Developing the science basis to support ecosystem based management
Achievement at a glance
ICES ecosystem overviews describe the current state of regional ecosystems, identify the main human pressures, and explain how these pressures affect key ecosystem components at a regional level. Presenting the main human activities in a region creates awareness of their distribution and the resultant pressure on the environment and ecosystems across ICES regions. The overviews are developed with the most up-to-date knowledge available to the scientific community, but also inform where knowledge is lacking, alerting to situations that need further attention and where effort is needed to close the gap. The strength of the overviews lies in the quality of the data and information provided, based on contributions from a large number of expert groups within the ICES community. \r\nICES now provides ecosystem overviews for nine ecoregions: Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, Icelandic Waters, Greater North Sea, Baltic Sea, Celtic Sea, Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast, Oceanic Northeast Atlantic, and Azores.\r\nhttp://www.ices.dk/community/advisory-process/Pages/Ecosystem-overviews.aspx\r\n\r\nICES also provide fisheries overviews for seven ecoregions and have recently taken on the challenge of developing aquaculture overviews. \r\nhttp://www.ices.dk/community/advisory-process/Pages/fisheries-overviews.aspxChallenges faced in implementation
- To relate the ecosystem models to concrete management objectives and actions so that they can focus the scope to be operational and fit for purpose.\r\n\r\n- To find a balance incorporating qualitative knowledge into quantitative models so that data with different level of certainty can be included in an effective manner. \r\n\r\n- Finding a common language and understanding to integrate diverse areas of knowledge such as natural, social, and economic sciences together with local knowledge.\r\nBeneficiaries
_