International Conference on Fisheries Dependent Information, Galway, Ireland 2010
At various EAF-Nansen project meetings, information brochure on the ICES conference on “Making the Most of Fisheries Information” which will be held in Galway, Ireland from 23 to 26 August 2010 was made available to participants. The conference, the first in the series of fisheries dependent information conferences, is on the collection and interpretation of traditional and non-traditional information in the context of the ecosystem approach to fisheries.
The EAF-Nansen project is encouraging scientists and managers in Africa to participate in the conference. The project will offer support to representatives of EAF National and Regional Task Groups who will present papers or posters that are in line with the objectives of the project or report results from project activities. |
For registration, submission of abstracts and financial support see the conference website: www.fisherydependentdata.com. You may also contact the EAF-Nansen project coordinator as soon as your abstract is accepted.
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Margarita Lizárraga Medal Award goes to the Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources of Namibia
The FAO Margarita Lizárraga Medal for the 2008/2009 biennium has been awarded to Hon. Abraham Iyambo, Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources of Namibia in “recognition of his leadership at the national, regional and international levels in relation to the application of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries”. According to the Director General of FAO, Dr Jacques Diouf, Hon. Iyambo, the first individual to be awarded the medal, “achieved this through implementation of responsible fisheries science, policies and management as well as through substantive contribution to the negotiations leading to the Reykjavik Declaration on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem, to the establishment of the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project (BCLME), the Benguela-Environment-Fisheries-Interaction and Training Programme (BENEFIT) and the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO)”.
The FAO Conference instituted the Margarita Lizárraga Medal Award in 1997 to go to a person or organization that has served with distinction in the application of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. The Medal pays tribute to Ms Margarita Lizárraga, FAO Senior Fishery Liaison Officer, for her role in promoting the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
Congratulations, Dr Iyambo
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EAF-Nansen project at the BCC Forum
The First Annual Science Forum of the Benguela Current Commission (BCC) was held at Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre in Swapomund, Namibia from 23 to 25 November 2009. The BCC “is a multi-sectoral initiative by Angola, Namibia and South Africa to promote integrated management, sustainable development and protection of the environment using an ecosystem approach to ocean governance” (www.benguelacc.org).
About 30 projects addressing the BCC science program are being formulated for implementation and cover six broad thematic areas namely; ecosystem approach to fisheries management, living marine resources research and management, biodiversity and ecosystem health, water quality and pollution, oceanographic and coastal monitoring and data and information management. Status of formulation or implementation of some of these projects was reported on at the Forum.
The EAF-Nansen Project Coordinator, Dr Kwame Koranteng participated in the Forum. In his presentation, the Coordinator informed the participants that following the BCC call for proposals, the EAF-Nansen project expressed interest in the following projects:
- Implementing a process which allows the review (auditing) and tracking of EAF (EAF/09/01)
- Provide guidance on institutional arrangements which support an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF/09/02)
- A strategy to develop and integrate the human dimension of an ecosystem approach to fisheries in the region (EAF/09/12)
These projects were considered to be a logical follow-up to the FAO-assisted EAF pilot project done under the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem project. (“To investigate the feasibility of EAF management in the BCLME region through examining the existing issues, problems and needs related to EAF and developing different management options to achieve sustainable management of the resources at an ecosystem level”). The projects will be implemented by FAO, BCC and partners and the project documents are being finalised. The EAF-Nansen project is expecting to learn lessons from the three projects for possible replication in other areas in Africa.
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The SWIOFP/ASCLME Surveys
The R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen has just completed 82 days of ecosystem survey work in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) working in the waters of Mozambique (15 days), Madagascar (40 days) and Comoros (27 days). These surveys were funded by the EAF-Nansen project, the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) and the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ASCLME) project.
SWIOFP objectives for the surveys were:
- Acoustic survey for small pelagic fishes with pelagic trawls to determine the species composition of fish aggregations;
- Bottom trawls for demersal fishes where bottom type and topography allowed;
- Biological sampling to determine species composition, numbers and weight of catches, size, sex, maturity and genetic sampling of prioritized crustaceans, demersal and pelagic fishes;
- Marine mammal and sea-bird observations;
- Benthic grab samples along transects;
- Environmental sampling of water temperature, salinity, depth, bottom type at all sampling stations; and
Bottom mapping using a multibeam echosounder.
ASCLME objectives for the surveys were:
- Environmental sampling at stations along transects perpendicular to the coast, using a CTD unit with water samplers lowered to depths of up to 2000m;
- At each station along the transect, which stretched from near the coast to a distance offshore where depth exceeded 2000m, environmental samples (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, stable isotopes etc.) were collected at fixed depths;
- A multinet was deployed to collect phyto- and zooplankton samples;
- Collection of fish samples for a biodiversity survey;
- Collection of genetic samples of fishes for biodiversity purposes
The survey plans for the two projects have been adversely affected by the piracy situation in the Indian Ocean that has in fact prevented the Dr Fridtjof Nansen from working in Kenyan and Tanzanian waters.
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The R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Southern Indian Ocean Seamounts Cruise
The R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen, the flagship of the EAF-Nansen project, and operated by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Bergen, Norway, is battling the waves in the southern Indian Ocean on the survey of seamounts. According to its coordinator, Dr Kwame Koranteng, the EAF-Nansen project is providing an excellent platform for the field work of the GEF-funded Seamounts Project “Applying an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in the High Seas – a Focus on Seamounts of the southern Indian Ocean”. The project itself is under the leadership of IUCN and has distinguished partners including the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems (ASCLME) project, the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP), the University of Reunion Marine Ecology Laboratory (ECOMAR) and the EAF-Nansen project (acting on behalf of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Norway). The EAF-Nansen project is contributing nearly 60% of the vessel cost for the survey with the partners making up the difference.
The project is addressing the three main barriers to sustainable fisheries management and marine biodiversity conservation in the high seas:
- Lack of scientific knowledge about seamount ecosystems and their relationship with fisheries resources
- Lack of comprehensive and effective governance frameworks for marine biodiversity in the high seas
- Difficulty of managing offshore fish stocks, including monitoring, control and surveillance
The Cruise Leader, Dr Åge Høines of IMR, has considerable experience on deep sea fisheries. Mr Oddgeir Alvheim, also of IMR is capturing exciting moments and rare sights on camera. The pictures coming out of this survey are simply fantastic.
Visit the survey blog at http://seamounts2009.blogspot.com/ for really exciting news and photos of extremely rare species including the ones below.
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EAF Course at the University of Ghana
The EAF-Nansen project and the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (University of Ghana) will be organising an International Training Course on Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) at the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. The course will be given in English. The course is intended to give a wide understanding of processes affecting local and sub-regional marine ecosystems to improve their fisheries resource management, sustainable exploitation and production.
Candidates who complete the three-week course will be awarded a Certificate from the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, University of Ghana. Most of the course topics will be given as lectures alongside case studies and field trips. The EAF-Nansen project will provide some funding for the course.
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Deborah Catena Joins EAF-Nansen Project Team
Ms Deborah Catena started working with the EAF-Nansen project team in Rome as a Volunteer. Deborah, a marine biology graduate, is pursuing postgraduate studies at the Universita' La Sapienza in Rome, Italy. Deborah will be with us for an initial period of 6 months. She speaks Italian, French, English and Spanish.
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Deborah during her time at the Marine Turtles Conservation Project, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
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