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Participants invited for upcoming ICES workshops.
Published: 18 July 2019
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Take a look at some of our​ upcoming workshops in autumn 2019.

 ​​All ICES workshops are open. Participants from public institutes, universities, governments, international organizations and conventions, public consultative bodies, industry organizations, and environmental NGOs, as well as interested individuals, are welcome to join and contribute with their expertise. 

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Workshop on Better Coordinated Stomach Sampling (WKBECOSS)

Within EU MAP, there is a unique opportunity for the regular collection of diet data within fisheries research surveys. To ensure a homogeneous dataset, coordination of stomach sampling studies is essential. However, stomach sampling currently operates on a variable basis of intensity and is not coordinated between countries. To realize the benefits of stomach sampling carried out by different institutes and to match the needs of the end-users of diet data, WKBECOSS will develop an action plan to improve coordinated stomach sampling across European institutes. 

WKBECOSS will review current sampling programmes at European institutions in relation to fish stomach content analyses (SCA) and stable isotope analyses (SIA) in order to update existing best practice guidelines for SCA programmes and how to manage the use of different data sources to establish a better coordinated sampling.

Chairs Izaskun Preciado, Spain and Stefan Neuenfeldt, Denmark, invite those working on SCA/SIA sampling, as well as end-users of these databases to participate. Preciado notes that, “Stomach sampling and stable isotope analysis will greatly improve our understanding of the ecosystem structure and functioning and will contribute to the ecosystem-based management developed within ICES Working Groups.

WKBECOSS will take place 3–6 September in Santander, Spain.

Workshop on human activities affecting the seabed – from evaluating data products to benthic impact (WKBEDPRES2)

WKBEDPRES2 will develop EU-wide guidance on how to assess and report human activities that cause physical disturbance to the seabed and loss of benthic habitat. 

Building on the work of WKBEDPRES1 (seabed disturbance) and WKBEDLOSS (seabed loss), this final workshop will evaluate the operational use of data products and methodologies arising from the previous workshops, and describe the spatial extent and distribution of human activities affecting seabed habitats (an assessment of MSFD Descriptor 6 Seafloor integrity C1–C4). 

​​​​Chair Philip Boulcoutt hopes that researchers and RSCs investigators who are active in the field of benthic impact will participate. “As the aim of WKBEDPRES2 is to provide advice on benthic impact that is applicable EU-wide, ICES encourage attendance from all regional sea areas."

WKBEDPRES2 will take place 30 September–2 October 2019 at ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Workshop on Tradeoffs Scenarios between the Impact on Seafloor Habitats and Provisions of catch/value (WKTRADE2)​

WKTRADE2 is also part of the stepwise process of delivering guidance on seafloor integrity, Descriptor 6 of the EU’s MSFD.
Methods for assessing seafloor impact from bottom-contacting fishing gears have been developed within ICES and from an ecosystem-based fisheries management perspective, these methods can also be used to inform managers about the interlinkages, and therefore trade-offs, between benthic impacts and the socio-economic value from the fisheries. Actual costs (and benefits) associated with fishing in specific locations are difficult to estimate, because they differ by métier and by other factors such as a vessel’s homeport, vessel characteristics, etc.

WKTRADE 2 will address these challenges and advise on best practices to better reflect bio-economic cost and benefit tradeoffs, and, to outline progression towards potential management options which fully account for the socio-economic value of fisheries as well as the consequences of effort mitigation measures (e.g. in scenarios that focus on the reduction of benthic impacts).

François Bastardie and Jochen Depestele will chair the event. In terms of participants, Depestele expects that, “this workshop will facilitate a network of social and economic experts within the ecosystem approach to fisheries and envision cross-disciplinary work by experts in fisheries economics, bio-economic modelling, human behaviour modelling in fisheries, spatial fisheries dynamics, and fisheries management”.
 
WKTRADE2 takes place 4–6 September 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Workshop on Challenges, Opportunities, Needs, and Successes for including human dimensions in IEAs (WKCONSERVE)

At present, ICES integrated ecosystem assessment (IEA) groups have very different levels of economic and social science involvement. WKCONSERVE is an opportunity for our IEA community to meet and discuss options for expanding the human dimension inputs into IEAs.  

The workshop will bring together the chairs of ICES IEA groups with various economists and social scientists active in ICES working groups, and others with appropriate expertise and strong interest to make IEAs more interdisciplinary and comprehensive.

Alan Haynie, one of the workshop's chairs explains, “Humans are integral parts of all ecosystems - it is impossible to understand how ecosystems function without studying the roles that people play in them.  By examining how people use resources - and how they value different and trade-off uses - we can collectively better monitor, protect, and utilize marine resources."

WKCONSERVE will examine the human dimensions content and activities within each ICES IEA group so that a roadmap can be developed, charting a realistic path to better social science integration.  This process includes identifying new researchers, data, and methods to include in each IEA.

The workshop is chaired by Mette Skern-Mauritzen, Alan Haynie, Jörn Schmidt, and Eva-Lotta Sundblad and will take place 8–10 October 2019 at ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Workshop on the Realigning of the Ecosystem Observation Steering Group (WKREO)

A shift towards the more complex ecosystem questions being asked of ICES requires a broader coordination of data collection. WKREO will consider how Ecosystem observation steering group (EOSG) expert groups can enhance communication within EOSG and create a more integrated information flow between data collection and advisory processes.

ICES invites participation from the data collection coordination expert groups along with a representation of data users to attend​​. Co-chair Sven Kupchus adds "Your views and your ​buy-in are essential to improve the communication and ways of working needed to maintain the high standards of ICES advice."

WKREO​ is chaired by Sven Kupschus, Matthias Kloppmann, and Colm Lordan and will take place 28–31 October 2019 at ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark​.

Find dates and details for all upcoming ICES expert group meetings on ICES calendar.​​




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