December 2024 – PhD day

A new edition of iMARES PhD day with lots of interesting talks about student projects and discussions. And it follows with a nice pre-hollidays lunch!

December 2024 – A new report calls for transforming the current fisheries management model to ensure long-term sustainability

The ICM-CSIC, in collaboration with the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), has produced a new report that underscores the urgency of transforming the current fisheries management model, including the production, distribution, and consumption of marine resources to ensure long-term sustainability and a fairer distribution of the benefits generated.

Specifically, the report highlights the need to adopt an ecosystem-based fisheries management model rather than one focused on individual species, considering the complex interactions between species and their environment. According to the authors, this approach will improve the health and resilience of marine ecosystems and complement traditional strategies, which are not always sufficient.

Furthermore, the report proposes a holistic vision of the oceans, considering the entirety of marine ecosystems, including habitats, biodiversity, the ecological processes that sustain them, and the range of economic activities that take place, from resource production to distribution and consumption.

“This integrated perspective is essential for reversing the degradation of marine ecosystems and ensuring their recovery, thus contributing to the preservation of the services they provide to society,” says Marta Coll (ICM-CSIC), the study’s author.

Research and equitable distribution of benefits

The report also stresses the importance of scientific research as a fundamental basis for the development of tools and innovative strategies that enable more effective and sustainable management of marine resources. In addition, it emphasizes the need to ensure fairer and more transparent value chains, ensuring that the benefits reach local communities and sector workers in a just manner.

“A fairer distribution of the benefits generated by fishing and aquaculture is necessary. We cannot talk about sustainability solely in environmental terms, but also need to include social and economic justice. The benefits of these sectors must be equitable and transparent for local communities and workers,” states Miquel Ortega (ICM-CSIC), another of the report’s authors.

Finally, the document calls on governments, businesses, and civil society to collaborate on the implementation of urgent measures for production, distribution, and consumption that will ensure the health of the oceans and a sustainable future for the next generations. These actions are vital for contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to protecting life below water and combating climate change.

The new report is part of the “Science for Public Policy” collection, which aims to act as a bridge between research centres and policymakers:

“This programme is intended to become a mechanism for public officials at all levels of government to make more effective decisions based on scientific knowledge,” says the President of CSIC, Eloísa del Pino.

The report is also issued in Alimentta think tank

March 2023 – Master students day

We hold the first Master’s student day! We had great presentations by 19 master students that have finished their work during 2021-2022 or are starting their projects in 2022-2023.

 

TimeYearNameSupervisorsTitle
9.00-9.152022Miriam GimenoFran Ramírez / Joan GiménezClimate and human impacts on global penguin hotspots: current

assessments for future conservation.

9.20-9.352022Laia RosellFran RamírezA systematic review and meta-analysis of the pollutant exposure

(POPs and trace elements) by penguin through the Southern

Hemisphere.

9.40-9.552022Marc VezJoan Navarro / Joan GiménezEffects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the foraging ecology of an

opportunistic predator inhabiting urban environments.

10.00-10.152022Ana FernándezJoan Navarro / Joan GiménezSpatial variability of Hg values in a demersal mesopredator along

the western Mediterranean Sea.

10.20-10.352022Luca FrancotteJoan Giménez / Joan NavarroLong-term changes in the feeding habits of swordfish in the

western Mediterranean Sea.

10.40-10.552022Martín BarreirosValerio SbragagliaAnalysis of fishing in the MPAs of the Spanish Mediterranean

(comparison between recreational and professional fishing)

11.00-11.25Cofee Break
11.25-11.302023Mar PardoJoan Giménez / Marta CollFeeding ecology of age-0 bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Valencia
11.35-11.402023Laura SanzJoan Navarro / NixonCreels as a low-impact alternative to trawling to fish deep-sea

Norway lobster.

11.45-11.502023Ana BaezaFrancisco Ramírez /Joan NavarroUrban gulls as sentinels of Hg pollution in urban marine

environments.

11.55-12.002023Angela LoringJoan Navarro / Joan GiménezUnravelling the causes of mortality in razorbills wintering in

the Alborán Sea

12.05-12.102023Joana DomingoJoan NavarroDistribución y selección de lugares de nidificación de un depredador

oportunista presente en ecosistemas urbanos.

12.15-12.202023Sofía DiéguezMaria BasCanvis en la presència d’espècies marines en el registre

zooarqueològic de l’Hemisferi Sud com a mètode de validació de

models de distribució d’espècies marines en el passat.

12.25-12.302023Aleix FerrerFran RamírezUso de hábitat y ecología trófica de la gaviota de Audouin

en el mediterráneo occidental. Màster en Teledeccion y GIS

12.35-12.402023Núria BoschFran Ramírez / Joan GiménezFacing a warming Antarctic Ocean: Penguin population responses

to increasing water temperatures and sea ice retreat.

12.45-12.502023Estella CarbonellMarta Coll / Miquel OrtegaHistorical analysis of the socio-ecological system associated with

the Ebro Delta purse seine fishery

12.55-13.002023María Begoña CoboOdei García-Garin / Marta CollMicroplastic modelling through the food web: The Delta de

l’Ebre as a study case.

13.05-13.102023Andrés MoreiraOdei García-Garin / Diego PáezAssessing the presence of microplastics in Galapagos Sea Lions’

scats as a bioindicator of pollution in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

13.15-13.202023Núria GonzálezOdei García-Garin / Manel GazoPresència de microplàstics en els continguts estomacals d’una

espècie de tauró bentònic en zones de canyons submarins

del Golf de Lleó: la moixina (Galeus melastomus) com a cas d’estudi.

13.25-13.302023Lara FazzariValerio SbragagliaPublic attention to invasive alien species in the Mediterranean Sea

 

 

 

 

 

June 2022 – SEINE-ETP project starts!

We started our new research project SEINE-ETPAssessment of potential interactions between the purse SEINErs fishery of Castellón and Endangered, Threatened, Protected species” with some field work in the purse seine fleet.

October 2011 – The Ecopath Research and Development Consortium is born (UCB, Vancouver, Canada)

In October 2011 we participated in the creation of the Ecopath Research and Development Consortium.

  • The Ecopath Research and Development Consortium was established in Vancouver, Canada, in 2011.
  • The Consortium is a global, cooperative network focused on the research, development and sustainability of the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) approach and software, its information basis, and complementary activities and capabilities.
  • The Consortium is a non-commercial activity that is operated on a not for profit basis.
  • The objective of the Consortium is to contribute to the sustainability of living resources and ecosystems by developing, applying, teaching, and promoting modelling and analytical tools, with a focus on the EwE modelling approach. The work is done as a cooperative effort between research, technical, and educational entities from around the world.
  • The Consortium has as its aim to advance the development of EwE, to provide value to the users of the software, and to contribute to research and development of ecosystem-based management with a focus on EwE’s contribution to this.
  • The Consortium is organized in an Executive Board, Regional Offices, a Technical Committee, a General Assembly, and a series of Working Groups.
  • The Consortium is governed by an Executive Board and composed of registered Members.

Website