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Assessment of the interaction between corals, fish and fisheries, in order to develop monitoring and predictive modelling tools for ecosystem based management in the deep waters of Europe and beyond

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Project Metadata ElementDetails
  Project Title Assessment of the interaction between corals, fish and fisheries, in order to develop monitoring and predictive modelling tools for ecosystem based management in the deep waters of Europe and beyond
Research Area Water
Project Acronym CoralFISH
  Principal Investigator or Lead Irish Partner
  Lead Institution or Organisation National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG); University College Cork (UCC)
 Lead Country Ireland
 Latitude, Longitude (of Lead Institution) 53.27905, -9.05794; 51.89348, -8.49206; 53.30384, -8.93716
  Lead Funding Entity European Commission
  Approximate Project Start Date 01/06/2008
  Approximate Project Finishing Date 01/06/2012
  Project Website (if any) http://eu-fp7-coralfish.net/
  Links to other Web-based resources
 Project Keywords Interaction; Ecosystem management; Bottom fishing; Conservation
  Project Abstract CoralFISH will assess the interaction between corals, fish and fisheries, in order to develop monitoring and predictive modelling tools for ecosystem based management in the deep waters of Europe and beyond. In 2006, the UN General Assembly Resolution (61/105) called upon fisheries management organisations worldwide to: i) Assess the impact of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems; ii) Identify/map vulnerable ecosystems through improved scientific research/data collection; iii) Close such areas to bottom fishing unless conservation and management measures were established to prevent their degradation. In European deep waters there is also a need to establish monitoring tools to evaluate the effectiveness of closed areas for the conservation of biodiversity and fish and their impact on fisheries. Two FP6 projects (PROTECT & HERMES) have already identified the need for information concerning the interaction between fish and cold water coral habitats. CoralFISH brings together a unique consortium of deep-sea fisheries biologists, ecosystem researchers/modellers, economists and a fishing industry SME, who will collaborate to collect data from key European marine eco-regions. The consortium numbers 16 partners from 10 countries.