Acronym ECOSEAL
Category
Fisheries
Title Baltic seals - balancing between sustainable ecosystem management and fisheries Programme Interreg IV
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
Strand A
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
Central Baltic
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source European Coordinator Raisa Tiilikainen Coordinator email raisa.tiilikainen@rktl.fi
Coordinator institution
FGFRI - Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (Finland)
Institutions involved
SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden) ,
UH - University of Helsinki (Finland) ,
NA - University of Tartu; Estonian Marine Institute (Estonia) ,
Start year 2012 End year 2013 Funding (€) € 1,114,783 Website http://www.centralbaltic.eu/ Summary At present, seals, the main top predators of the Baltic Sea, are recovering after population declines, but face a changed ecosystem both in terms of human-induced mortality (hunting, by-catch in fishing gear) and changes in available food resources. On the other hand, the increasing seal stocks cause notable damage to small-scale coastal fisheries, especially in the northern Baltic. Lack of updated information on different aspects of the interactions between seals, fish stocks and coastal fishery, aggravates seal-fishery co-existence and the accomplishment of a favourable conservation status. The project ECOSEAL brings together experts on seal ecology, fish stock management, and mathematical modelling as well as different stakeholders from Finland, Sweden and Estonia in order to produce and utilise new, extensive information and practical tools to be introduced for favourable seal management in the Baltic countries. The project aims at providing practical tools for conservation and management strategies for Baltic seals. The project also disseminates up-to-date information on different aspects of seal-fishery interactions (by-catch, impact of seals on fish and fishery) to fishermen and other stakeholders, and proposes ways to mitigate the conflict. The project also assesses opportunities for local people, in the coastal archipelago region, to start utilising seals as a means of nature tourism.
Keywords
Seals;
Bycatch;
Environmental impact;
Fisheries management;
Marine Region
18
West of Gotland (27.IIId.27)
17
Bothnian Sea (27.IIId.30)
16
East of Gotland or Gulf of Riga (27.IIId.28)
21
Southern Central Baltic-East (27.IIId.26)
24
Sound, Belt Sea or Transition Area (27.IIIb,c)
14
Skagerrak, Kattegat (27.IIIa)
20
Archipelago Sea (27.IIId. 29)
23
Baltic West of Bornholm (27.IIId.24)
22
Southern Central Baltic-West (27.IIId.25)
19
Gulf of Finland (27.IIId.32)
27
Bothnian Bay (27.IIId.31)
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Marine Region Map
