COST-IMPACT Costing the impact of demersal fisheries on marine ecosystem processes and biodiversity Co-ordinator: Dr Mel Austen – Webpage: Contract number: Q5S Start date: 01 December 2001 End date: 31 November 2004 Duration: 36 months

Primary objectives to provide advice to decision makers on 1. How demersal fishing impacts the biodiversity of marine benthos and the associated goods and services that they provide 2. How these impacts influence other marine ecosystem processes 3. What the likely values of marine ecosystem goods and services are and how these values are affected by fishing

COST-IMPACT PARTNERS 1. Plymouth Marine Laboratory Dr Melanie Austen UK 2. Ecological Consultancy Services Ltd (EcoServe) Chris Emblow Ireland 3. The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) Dr Morten Schaanning Norway 4. School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales-Bangor, UK (UWB) Dr Mike Kaiser UK 5. Institute of Marine Biology of Crete (IMBC) Dr Chris Smith Greece 6. University of Oslo, Department of Biology, Section of Marine Chemistry and Marine Zoology (UO) Dr Frode Olsgard Norway 7. Fisheries Economics Division – Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI) Dr Erik Buisman The Netherlands 8. University of East Anglia (UEA) – The Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE) Dr Rob Tinch UK 9. PRIMER-E (PRIMER-E) Dr Bob Clarke UK 10. Sea Fisheries Institute (SFI) Dr Aleksander Drgas Poland 11. University of Gdansk Institute of Oceanography, (UG) Dr Jerzy Bolalek Poland

Cost-Impact : Costing the impact of demersal fishing on marine ecosystem processes and biodiversity EU Framework 5 Cost-Impact : Costing the impact of demersal fishing on marine ecosystem processes and biodiversity Types and amounts of demersal fishing Changes in PP and ecosystem processes (ERSEM) Changes in value of system goods and services Changes in benthic biodiversity Changes in nutrient cycling Development of Decision Support System

By enabling development of strategies to manage fisheries effort that will balance the environmental impact on marine benthic biodiversity and the services the benthos provides for marine ecosystem functioning against the socio-economic benefits of fishing By providing tools to help determine whether a balance can be achieved between the economic value of a fishery and the impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems and the economic value of the goods and services they provide COST-IMPACT will help managers to integrate fishing policy with environment policy

WP2 Data organisation WP4 Ecological modelling WP3 Experiments on goods and services WP5 Environmental economics WP8 Annual workshop WP9 Final workshop WP6 Project management WP7 Dissemination WP1 Start up workshop COST-IMPACT - project structure

?Collate existing data on the effects of demersal fishing on benthic communities inhabiting marine soft sediments >Produce database of spatially referenced faunal information, upon which models and analyses may be based WP 2 Data Organisation EcoServe, PML, UWB, IMBC, UO, PRIMER-E

WP3 Experiments on goods and services provided by biodiversity PML, NIVA, IMBC, UO, PRIMER-E >The relative contribution of large individual benthic organisms and the communities associated with them to nutrient cycling >The influence of large individuals and groups/patches of large benthic organisms on associated benthic biodiversity >The relationship between nutrient cycling capacity and biodiversity of benthic communities in areas subjected to different degrees of fishing >How these functions vary seasonally Carry out seasonal (winter and summer) mesocosm and field experiments to elucidate:

Mesocosm experiment to determine effects of biodiversity of bioturbating species on ecosystem functioning: nutrient exchange and maintenance of associated biodiversity

Norway - Oslofjord ROV and Operators

Control (untrawled)Trawled

Number of holes/m 2 Study area

Core samples were collected in trawled and untrawled areas to determine nutrient flux over 3 weeks in mesocosm

Iraklion Bay Aegean Sampling Sites

Side camera Side scan Side scan and Video Acquisition

Side scan & video

Nutrient Flux Nutrient Flux Bioturbation Effects Bioturbation Effects Cost-Impact in the Aegean

WP 4 Ecological modelling of the effects of fishing on marine ecosystems IMBC, PML, UWB, UO, PRIMER-E >Use field data collated in database (WP2) to determine the relationship between fishing effort and biodiversity of benthic communities >Hence construct empirically based predictive models of changes in benthic biodiversity likely to occur with changes in fishing effort in different European regions Model effects of fishing on marine benthic communities and marine ecosystem processes: >Incorporate experimental data (WP3) into models to construct empirically based predictive models of changes in nutrient cycling likely to take place with changes in fishing effort in different European regions

WP 4 Ecological modelling of the effects of fishing on marine ecosystems Model effects of fishing on marine benthic communities and marine ecosystem processes (continued): >Input predictions from models of the effects of fishing on nutrient cycling and benthic biodiversity into the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model ERSEM >Hence construct predictions of changes in ecosystem processes (e.g. primary productivity) in response to changes in fishing effort for different European regions for which parameters are already set within ERSEM (e.g. southern North Sea, Aegean, Norwegian waters)

Bioturbation Effects Nutrient Flux Existing Data Biological Existing Data Chemical Existing Data Physical Environmental Economics Ecological Modelling ERSEM Model Cost-Impact in the Aegean

WP 5 Environmental Economics modelling UEA, PML, IMBC, LEI Explore methods for economic valuation of fishery productivity and other ecosystem services Build on the outputs of workpackages 2, 3 and 4 to ?model effects of different fishing regimes on fishery productivity and other ecosystem services ?calculate, where possible, the economic value of these effects ?conduct a constrained cost benefit analysis of different fishing regimes Develop a decision support tool for incorporating trade-offs between fishing effort and ecosystem services within management Model the costs/benefits of changes in fishing on the value of ecosystem services and natural capital:

WP 7 Distribution and dissemination of information to user groups EcoServe, IMBC, UO, UEA Distribute and disseminate information concerning the project to a wide range of interested parties and end users Co-ordination of the Reference User group ?All project participants and the Reference User group will attend two workshops additional to the Start up workshop. ?Project results and progress will be disseminated via the project web site, electronic newsletters and a listserver discussion group

?comprises potential users of COST-IMPACTs final outputs from both commercial and government sectors, (fisheries and aquaculture management, nature conservation) ?advise on the relevance and user-friendliness of the research ?advise on dissemination procedures to ensure that results from COST-IMPACT reach potential end users Reference User Group (RUG)

WP6 Project Management Coordinator Mel Austen PML (WP3, WP6) Steering Committee Mike Kendall PML (WP1) Chris Emblow ECOSERVE (WP2) Yannis Karakassis IMBC (WP4) Kerry Turner/Rob Finch CSERGE (WP5) Chris Smith IMBC (WP8) Mona McCrea ECOSERVE (WP9) Michel Kaiser UWB Morten Schaanning NIVA Frode Olsgard UOSLO Erik Buisman LEI-DLO Bob Clarke PRIMER-E

WP1 Start up workshop M. Kendall PML WP2 Data organisation C. Emblow ECOSERVE (M. Kaiser UWB) WP4 Modelling Y. Karakassis IMBC (K. Clarke PRIMER-E) WP3 Experiments on goods M. Austen PML (M. Schaanning NIVA) WP5 Environmental economics K. Turner CSERGE (E. Buisman LEI-DLO) WP8 Annual workshop C. Smith IMBC WP9 Final workshop M. McCrea ECOSERVE WP6 Project management M.Austen PML (M.Kendall PML) WP7 Dissemination C.Emblow ECOSERVE (R.Tinch CSERGE)