PROTECT
01/01/2005 - 30/09/2008
PROTECT
Ecosystem conservation and fisheries management through Marine Protected Areas
To provide policy advice and develop methodologies to assess the potential of different Marine Protected Areas (MPA) regimes. MPAs will be assessed for their effectiveness to protect sensitive species, habitats and ecosystems from the adverse effects of fishing, to promote the enhancement of vulnerable species or ecosystems and to assist in the sustainable harvesting of economically valuable species. A number of European institutes propose to work together in three regional case studies and in common work packages on the methodology development, assessment and modelling of European MPA's PROTECT will define, assess and evaluate the parameters determining the success and failure of different regimes of protected areas based on resource, ecosystem and socio-economic objectives.
List of Partners
- Danish Institute for Fisheries Research (DIFRES)Denmark
- Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (FGFRI), Finland
- Swedish National Board of Fisheries (NBF), Sweden
- Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Kiel (IfML), Germany
- Institute for Hydrobiology and Fisheries Science, University of Hamburg (IHF), Germany
- Sea Fisheries Institute (SFI), Poland
- Danish Research Institute of Food Economics (FOI), Denmark
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), United Kingdom
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), United Kingdom
- Fisheries Research Services, Marine Laboratory Aberdeen (FRS), United Kingdom
- The Marine Law and Ocean Policy Centre, National University of Ireland (MRI), Ireland
- Centre for the Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources, University of Portsmouth (CEMARE), United Kingdom
- Institut Français de Recherche pour l?Exploration de la Mer (IFREMER), France
- Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research (RIVO), Netherlands
- Dept. of Marine Ecology, Gothenburg University (GU), Sweden
- Institute for Marine Research (IMR-N), Norway
- Norwegian College of Fisheries Science (NCFS), Norway
Work packages
- Project management and coordination
- MPA Review
- Success criteria and knowledge required to design and assess MPAs
- MPA monitoring strategies and Databases
- MPA modeling and evaluation
- Project Synthesis
- Dissemination and Communication
Tasks
- Definition of fisheries- and environmental MPA management Objectives.
- Statement of the scientific hypotheses for the creation of an MPA to meet the pre-defined objectives
- Definition of success criteria, i.e., the intended protection effects considering the impacts on fisheries and various stakeholders, covering socioeconomic and legal aspects.
- Specification of key knowledge required to monitor, model and assess MPAs and indentify available or outline future tools to derive the necessary information.
- Outline efficient and cost-effective monitoring strategies and ways of their implementation.
- Develop meta-databases on MPA information and guidelines for data-base structures, quality control, and access routines.
- Compile data sets necessary for analyses within the specific MPA case studies.
- Develop models for assessing the ecological MPA performance and the effect on the fisheries including socio-economic consequences.
- Application of models within the three case studies, representing largely different MPA regimes, to evaluate their performance in relation to stated objectives.
- Consultation process with key stakeholders on the objectives, design and performance of MPAs.
- Resolve the linkages between scientific results and policy decisions as well as feedbacks within the economic and social system, which impact on the effectiveness as a conservation measure.
Useful outputs for MAIA
