Digital transition supporting inspection and control for sustainable fisheries

Topic description

ExpectedOutcome:

In line with the European Green Deal objectives, Common Fisheries Policy, the farm to fork strategy for a fair healthy and environmentally friendly food system, and the blue growth strategy, the successful proposal will support better fisheries management through data and technological development.

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

• Advancing the digital transition for fisheries inspection and control and deliver data for fisheries science, management and monitoring in a cost-efficient way to fully achieve the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
• Delivering innovative technological solutions such as machine learning and artificial intelligence and advance sensing technologies to support biologically complex data analysis
• Devise new monitoring and control strategies to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) and promote sustainable fisheries in the EU and globally.
• Create a new generation of jobs in the EU requiring digital and high-tech know-how applied to fisheries.
• Improve the professional skills and competences of those working and being trained to work within the blue economy.

The CFP aims to ensure that fisheries are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable and provide a source of healthy food for EU citizens. The CFP adopts a cautious approach, which recognises the impact of human activity on all components of the ecosystem. It seeks to make fishing fleets more selective in what they catch, to phase out the practice of discarding unwanted fish and to fight IUU vigorously. These illegal practices deplete fish stocks, destroy marine habitats, distort competition, put honest fishers at an unjust disadvantage and weaken coastal communities, particularly in developing countries. The EU is working to close the loopholes that allow illegal operators to profit from their activities. To be successful, the EU needs to have in place a technologically advanced and effective fisheries control system. Fighting IUU requires global cooperation, namely through regional fisheries organisations, to foster synergies by adopting innovative control technologies and data standards by fishing, coastal, port and consumer states.

Despite the advances attained since its inception, important challenges remain to ensure that the CFP aims are fully met. The availability and quality of fisheries data should be improved and more needs to be done to ensure that these data are shared systematically between all relevant entities, including fisheries scientists. In the EU, current control measures are only partially effective at ensuring the enforcement of the landing obligation, and of fully documented fisheries more generally. Accurate recording and accountability of by-catches of sensitive species, such as birds and mammals, and of marine biological resources are essential for an ecosystem approach to fisheries and for a sound stock assessment, which are in turn the foundation of responsible and sustainable fisheries management. The control and monitoring of vessels operating outside EU waters (long-distance fleet) as well as the small-scale fleet and recreational fisheries need particular attention.

Moreover, in order to ensure that EU fish imports come from sustainable fisheries and to promote the eradication of IUU worldwide it is necessary to cooperate with third-countries and international organisations to strengthen and promote the use of similar cost-efficient control technologies and data standards. The digital revolution has to contribute to ensure accurate catch registration data, including from weighing at landing, the verification of measures on fishing capacity applicable to vessels engine power, better traceability of fisheries products and improved catch certification schemes.

Digitisation and advanced tools applied to fisheries, such as Remote Electronic Monitoring Systems (REMs), artificial intelligence, machine learning tools, sensor data and high-resolution satellite imagery, have enormous potential to optimise fishing operations and enhance our ability to collect and analyse data, as well as improve monitoring and control capabilities and ultimately support a sustainable management of marine biological resources.

Research and innovation under this topic should review existing and develop new technological solutions to improve: (i) detection of illegal discards; (ii) checks on weighing, weighing systems and accurate catch registration; (iii) data management and reporting and third-party reporting based on remote electronic monitoring systems on vessels; (iv) risk management applied to fisheries; (v) monitoring and control of small-scale, recreational and long-distance fleet, (vi) electronic marking of fishing gear, (vii) identifying IUU activities as well as fisheries products stemming from those activities, (viii) promoting data standards and protection, remote access to data and automatic data exchange protocols, and (ix) innovative tools to assess compliance with technical requirements and measures applicable to fishing vessels, such as continuous engine power monitoring.

Research under this topic should be cross-disciplinary bringing together marine scientists, maritime (including fisheries) surveillance and control authorities, IT specialists and governance experts.

Where relevant, proposals may seek synergies and capitalise on the results of projects funded under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, its continuation European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and other funding streams.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

Ocean sustainability and blue economy
EOSC and FAIR data