Sustainable Marine Bioresources

What is the Sustainable Marine Bioresources Programme?

This is a five-year collaborative research programme to improve ecosystem-based fisheries management.

The oceans and fishing

The oceans have the capacity to provide food, maintain water quality, and recover from disturbances, but now there are concerns that the marine ecosystem is changing as a result of human activity.

There is particular concern about the loss of marine biodiversity due to fishing - if current trends continue many commercial fish stocks may not recover.

The impacts of climate change such as higher temperatures, ocean acidification and shifts in primary production bring added complexity, challenging the ability of researchers to provide appropriate scientific advice.

There is a clear need within the UK to strengthen marine research and the Sustainable Marine Bioresources programme is a response to this from funders the Natural Environment Research Council, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Marine Scotland and the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute.

There are 6 activities within the programme:

1. Prof Tim Jickells, New Production in the North Sea deep chlorophyll maximum: magnitude and ecosystem effects.

2. Prof John Harwood, Modeling interactions between top predators and fishing vessels: implications for fisheries management in a wider ecosystem.

3. Dr Dougie Spiers, A spatially resolved ecosystem model for the assessment of fisheries.

4. Dr Martin Genner, Climate change and macroecological patterns in an exploited marine fish assemblage.

5. Dr Beth Scott, Do oceanographic characteristics and predator-prey behaviours define critical marine habitats?

The role of managing our seas is changing rapidly as more demand is placed upon the use of space in the marine environment. It is essential to have a detailed understanding of how the motion and physical properties of seawater (physical oceanography) influence the biological productivity of the oceans, whether plankton (the microscopic life in the ocean), fish, seabirds or even fishermen. Any fisherman will tell you that there are some locations and times that consistently produce areas with large catches.

> Read more about the project here and see the docs at the end of the page.

6. Prof Gary Carvalho, Population structuring of cod around the UK: scale, mechanisms and dynamics.

Expected outputs

•  Better integration of fisheries assessment and management, fisheries ecology, marine ecosystems, oceanography, biology and economics held by UK academic, research council and government research organisations.
• A significant change in the funding relationships between governmental and non-governmental bodies.

Expected outcomes

• Better scientific advice on managing marine bioresources.
• Improved collaboration with industry and conservation bodies, contributing to rebuild trust and scientific credibility.
• The findings from this project will help inform decisions on Marine Spatial Planning, such as the design of marine protected areas; contribute to developments under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Climate Act; and help to achieve the goal of sustainable fisheries.