SUMMARY OF RESULTS (update 30 June 2014)
Executive Summary
The project “Coordinating research in support to application of EAF (Ecosystem
Approach to Fisheries) and management advice in the Mediterranean and Black Seas " with acronym CREAM has been funded by the EU-FP7 Programme (Call: FP7-KBBE-2010-4, Grant agreement no: 265648) with the purpose of establishing an effective collaboration network among key role players in Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries research and management addressed to provide scientific bases to promote the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The CREAM consortium has included 22 partners from 17 countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Spain,Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine), from national research institutes and one international organisation, from Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, with a long history and active participation in fisheries research and assessment, and who provide advice to national, regional and international fisheries management organisms. The project has also maintained an active collaboration with regional and international fisheries management organisms (FAO, GFCM, BSC, ICCAT and RAC/SPA). The project developed a strong training and capacity building and dissemination components in order to help to harmonize data collection and methodologies used in fisheries assessment and management in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
As specific tasks carried out in order to provide a sound background to the establishment of the network, CREAM has reviewed current knowledge and the state of the art in data collection and methodological practices in stock assessment and management and fishery effects on marine ecosystems of the Mediterranean and Black seas. It has provided meta-analysis of existing data in terms of needs, quality, harmonization, and the available methodologies and models for EAF, and the possibility of their application to the region. CREAM has also established coordination with the assessment and management international/regional bodies, such as the GFCM or the BSC, and has strengthened the scientific basis of EAF application in Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries. As a final product, CREAM has created, under the acronym EMBASEAS, a scientific network in support of the application of EAF in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, with the overall objective of enhance technical co-operation among concerned national, regional and intergovernmental organizations, particularly the exchange of information and experience among the members in order to promote the scientific approach of EAF in the region.
In quantitative terms, CREAM has provided 32 deliverables, amongst which 22 made available to the general public, has organised 4 coordination meetings, 7 specific workshops or meetings, 2 training courses and one international dissemination conference.
Regarding publications, CREAM has produced two collective and peer-reviewed publications: the especial issue in the Scientia Marina Journal “The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Seas” (Sci. Mar. 78S1: 2014), with 11 original research articles, and the article “The scientific strategy needed to promote a regional ecosystem-based approach to fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Seas” in the journal Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (Volume 23, Issue 4, December 2013, pp 415-434) signed by 16 members of the CREAM consortium. There have been other 9 peer-reviewed publications by the members of the consortium.
As for capacity building and formative actions, the two training courses organised within the framework of the project have been mentioned. The first one, “Ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas. Scientific bases”, Varna (Bulgaria), 3-7 February 2014, had 12 lecturers, 67 applicants and 31 participants from 16 countries. The second “Ecosystem approach to fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas. Management and decision making”, Zaragoza (Spain), 10-14 March 2014, had 12 lecturers, 66 applicants and 27 participants from 14 countries. In the International Dissemination Conference (Barcelona, 9-10 April 2014) there were 82 participants from 18 countries. Other 12 dissemination activities have been organised by the consortium members, in Morocco (6), Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and Georgia.