Research and innovation challenges: 1) Short term prediction of ecosystem characteristics for efficient and sustainable harvesting. 2) Long term prediction of ecosystem dynamics for sustainable management of low trophic species.
Knowledge and predictability of ocean ecosystem dynamics and harvest potential are fundamental to the development of sustainable fisheries. Model systems are needed to quantify biomasses and to assess how populations and food web dynamics are impacted by fisheries and other stressors such as climate change and pollution.
Models that represent ecosystem dynamics on lower trophic levels exist, but the effects of fisheries on e.g. zooplankton have not been fully implemented. Biological hot spots are usually associated with dynamic physical features in the ocean such as fronts and eddies. The combination of ocean modelling, statistics and artificial intelligence for autonomous sampling of dynamic front and eddies by gliders and AUVs enables the development of advanced model and forecast systems.
RA-leader: Dr. Ingrid Ellingsen (SINTEF Ocean)