Thumbnail Image

Report of the Expert workshop on indicators for ecosystem surveys.

Year of publication 2013

Product type Project

Series title FAO EAF-Nansen Project Report (FAO)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The Expert Workshop on indicators for ecosystem surveys was held in Rome from 29 to 31 August 2011 under the EAF-Nansen project (Strengthening the Knowledge Base for and Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Marine Fisheries in Developing Countries). It was attended by 16 participants from Africa, Asia and Europe. The principal objective of the workshop was to identify indicators for ecosystem surveys which could lead to the establishment of a list of ecosystem features and associated survey dat a for an ecosystem approach to fisheries. The participants were expected to identify key management objectives and priorities, and produce a list of ecosystem indicators to address them. Discussions centered on the following main questions: How should research vessels (RVs) be used to assess the ecosystem status (survey design, etc.)? What should be the survey priority of the RV Dr. Fridtjof Nansen? What RV data are needed to feed into an EAF? How can we gather and analyze existing survey data t o produce an appropriate and workable baseline for monitoring the oceans? A paper (Using research vessels to build a knowledge base for the ecosystem approach to fisheries) prepared as background was discussed. The paper focussed on the practical aspects of running an ecosystem survey using a RV, and taking into account the constraints arising when small vessels, possibly being temporarily adapted for survey work, were used. Some findings of the Institute of Marine Research of Bergen’s Barents S ea survey programme, which focused effectively on the ecosystem from 2004 to 2008, were presented and discussed.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Report of the Expert Workshop on the Development and Use of Indicators for an Ecosystem approach to fisheries. Rome, 20-24 April 2009. 2011
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The Expert Workshop on the development and use of indicators for an ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) was held in Rome from 20 to 24 April 2009 under the EAF-Nansen project (Strengthening the Knowledge Base for and Implementing an Ecosystem Approach to Marine Fisheries in Developing Countries). It was attended by 13 participants from Africa, Europe, Australia and Oceania, North America and FAO. The main objectives of the expert workshop were to identify suitable indicators for fish eries management, discuss the properties of these indicators, and provide advice on methodologies for the derivation, integration/aggregation and visualization of the indicators. Emphasis was placed on applicability of the derived indicators in developing countries and/or data-poor situations. It was noted that in spite of the abundance of indicators for fisheries management in the scientific literature, there is limited practical guidance as regards their relevance and cost-effectiv eness. In preparation for the expert workshop, three expert reviews were commissioned by FAO to establish what relevant indicators are available for EAF, their properties, and whether/where they have been used. Each review was intended to provide a structured assessment of available indicators for fisheries management classified in accordance with the hierarchical tree framework for identifying major issues in fisheries. For each indicator, an assessment of its properties in relation to data availability, practicality, cost-effectiveness, comprehension, acceptability by stakeholders, and robustness was made. The adopted definition for an Indicator was taken as ¿Something that is measured (not necessarily numerically) and used to track an operational objective¿ and it was noted that any indicator that does not relate to an operational objective is not useful in this context. The participants concluded that the three background papers provided an excellent starting point for an FAO Technical Paper on the development and use of indicators in EAF. A case study of the Tanzanian mixed coastal fishery was used to test whether the list of indicators was flexible enough to cover various situations (data rich/poor, high/low capacity, etc.) and how the trigger and reference points would differ depending on the objectives of each fishery. Using the indicators provided in the three reviews and the Tanzanian case study, the workshop defined a list of prior ity indicators. The workshop was also informed on the IndiSeas (Indicators for the Seas) Programme, a EUR-OCEANS European Network of Excellence working group to gather and share indicator expertise across marine ecosystems and member institutions. Information was also received on a programme on incorporating the human dimension to the ecosystem approach to fisheries, and specifically on indicators for supply elasticity. It was noted that there are several areas where these projects c ould be linked with benefits to parties. The participants agreed on a roadmap for further development and refinement of the derived indicators as inputs for the FAO Technical Paper and to organize a special workshop on indicators for ecosystem surveys using research vessels. It was also agreed to develop a template for reporting on the implementation of EAF for inclusion within the reporting on the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Report of the FAO Expert Workshop on Indicators for assessing the Contribution of Small-Scale Aquaculture to Sustainable Rural Development. Tagaytay, Philippines, 6-8 August 2009 2010
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The FAO Expert Workshop on Indicators for Assessing the Contribution of Small-Scale Aquaculture (SSA) to Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), held from 6 to 8 August 2009, in Tagaytay City, the Philippines, and participated by a total of twenty three experts, was convened to achieve the following: (i) present the outcomes (results and analysis) of the case studies which pilot-tested the Nha Trang SSA contribution indicators using various types of SSA in the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam; (ii) present the cross-country analysis and synthesis based on the outcomes of the pilot tests; (iii) refine and validate the indicators and evaluate their robustness, replicability and applicability in helping measure SSA sector performance for wider adoption and (iv) draw up a list of recommendations to further support (.e.g. appropriate interventions, priority setting and resource allocation) to the SSA sub-sector of sustainable aquaculture and rural development programmes based on a broad u nderstanding of sector performance (as measured by indicators) as well as risks and threats. The expert workshop carefully looked at each of the 14 Nha Trang SSA indicators and its applicability to the wide spectrum of SSA systems, based on the outcomes of the three country pilot tests covering seven SSA types, and the cross-country analysis/regional synthesis. The expert workshop brought forward a number of issues/concerns with respect to methodology, direct attribution to SRD, source of d ata and constraints in data collection. Recommendations were provided on which of the 14 Nha Trang indicators need further refining, merging, and/or deleting from the list, additional indicators as well as some aspects of the methodology used. A number of general recommendations was drawn for follow-up work in terms of SSA systems and scaling up, special research topics/studies including a number of issues of wider concern, e.g., biosecurity and food safety, natural disasters and risks, st atistical considerations, indicators for assessing impacts of SSA to the environment and biodiversity and networking.
  • Thumbnail Image
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.