A Scientific demersal trawl survey at sea in Albanian waters
Framework :
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Start date:
2023-06-25
Ref :
354824
End date:
2023-10-30
The experimental trawling survey is aimed to estimate the distribution and abundance of all species caught and the size structure of 52 commercially important fish species and all elasmobranch species. Identifying all the organisms caught allows for the characterization of benthic-demersal assemblages. The methodologies adopted ensure the results are comparable with similar surveys conducted in previous years in the same area, as well as in other European Mediterranean countries.
MEDITS, demersal resouces, monitoring and conservation
The overall purpose of the activity is to contribute to the execution of scientific demersal trawl survey at sea, in order:
• to contribute to the characterization of demersal fisheries resources in Albanian waters in term of population distribution, abundance as well as demographic structures;
• to provide data for modeling the population dynamic of the main demersal commercial species;
• to monitor interactions between fisheries and the marine environment and ecosystems.
It is also expected that the collection and analysis of survey data would allow for the formulation of scientifically based advice for improved conservation of the stocks.
The implementation of scientific demersal survey in Albania will also support the Albanian research institutions and administrations in view of establishing, on a routinely basis, a proper monitoring system of the fisheries resources in the country. Survey data, together with other information collected at national level, would contribute to provide the National authorities with the information necessary to plan fisheries management strategies according to the principle reported in the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF), the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) and the Blue Growth Initiative (BGI). This activity will also support Albania fisheries administration to comply with the requirements of the regional and sub-regional bodies in terms of data collection, fisheries resources monitoring and conservation, and fisheries management (e.g. requirements included in the GFCM Recommendation GFCM/40/2016/2 on the progressive implementation of data submission in line with the GFCM Data Collection Reference Framework - DCRF).
The activities aim at fostering the scientific cooperation in the area, and the capacity development of Albania institutions to cope with fisheries management. The activities are based on fishery independent information through the implementation of the MEDITS survey in Albania, including the compilation, analysis of data and the support towards the standardization of the time series of MEDITS survey data in the Adriatic Sea.