SOCIOEC

Overview

The EU fishing industry is closely tied to the unique characteristics of the different marine ecosystems which are central to the identity and prosperity of many coastal communities where fishing is not only an economic activity but a way of life. SOCIOEC aims to encompass all regional seas and their prevailing management measures for which the EU has major responsibilities and will investigate six different Case Studies;

1. Baltic Sea demersal Fisheries

2. North Sea demersal Fisheries

3. Western Waters Fisheries

4. Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries

5. Pelagic Fisheries

6. Non-EU fisheries

The six different Case Studies were chosen as they were representative of most fisheries management systems in operation in EU waters and their geographical area are designed to represent the geographical areas of the different Regional Advisory Councils (RACs), thereby promoting an appropriate platform of exchange and participation of the different stakeholders involved in these RACs.

These Case Studies will be examined using a common methodology. However, this is not to say that the same set of management measures and processes will be tested for each Case Study the same way. For example, the workshops with stakeholders (which will take place at the early stage of the project) will reveal those types of management which may be worth investigating for one Case Study, but not necessarily for another. The basic concept of the Case Study approach is to investigate contemporary problems within a real-life context.

The table below shows an overview of the different management instruments/processes which will be considered in the project (subject to approval and/or complementation by the panel of stakeholders).

 Overview of different managements instruments or process considered in SOCIOEC

BLUE indicates management measures and processes currently in application

ORANGE indicates future management options to be considered in SOCIOEC