SEAwise first synthesis report

<p dir="ltr">The SEAwise project works to deliver a fully operational tool that will allow fishers, managers, and policy makers to easily apply Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) in their fisheries. This SEAwise report synthesises results from scoping priorities for European EBFM from diverse stakeholder groups, the results of five core SEAwise systematic literature reviews and a review of indicators available in support of EBFM. Pulling together this wide range of knowledge allows us to compare the data and analytical needs of European EBFM stakeholders with the knowledge exists today in the literature. This provides links to data and analyses where these already exist and identify knowledge gaps that should be a priority for ongoing scientific enquiry to support European EBFM where they do not. Further, the link to indicators and thresholds used in management provides an overview of the degree to which the objectives are supported in current governance.</p><p dir="ltr">The assembled knowledge and resources have been gathered and curated under a web-app created under the FAIR principles for data sharing which will be made publicly available in SEAwise to provide full benefits of the large systematic review to the scientific community. Further, the results from the scoping and reviews were re-codified into topics utilising a common framework based on the UN’s Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Implementation Monitoring Tool. Comparison of the balance between different topics were made both within and between sources. The report concludes that research is still lacking to couple <i>human well-being</i> to other socio-ecological components of European socio-ecological fisheries systems. Furthermore, a framework to monitor <i>external drivers</i> (both human and ecological) of fisheries systems is missing though there is a desire from stakeholders to include this and there exists research to support it. This leaves a “blind-spot” for managers when trying to make informed decisions.</p><p dir="ltr">Continued work in SEAwise will help fill selected data-gaps and create context specific indicators based on local priorities derived from scoping.</p><p dir="ltr">Read more about the project at www.seawiseproject.org</p>