This WP will integrate data from previous Delmoges WPs to produce maps of the risk of captures and the contribution of the different compartments to these captures.
By finely characterizing the types of fleets operating in the area, by improving the calculation of fishing effort and by modeling the risks of accidental bycatch, the objective is to describe fishing activities in the Bay of Biscay. Existing data will be used (European fleet file, ship activity calendars (Ifremer), SACROIS, VMS geolocation data, ObsMer sampling data, ObsCame project data) and combined with data obtained in the previous working groups (WP1 and WP2) and their campaigns at sea.
Fishery activities and accidental bycatch
Using existing data, the first task of this WP is to obtain a detailed description of the fishing activities (type of vessel, power, evolution of the fishing effort, target species, etc.), especially on the gillnetters of the Bay of Biscay but also by integrating <12 m vessels and foreign vessels. This will allow a spatio-temporal representation of fishing activities which can be linked to the risk of capture.
Through an exploratory analysis, this task aims to integrate all available data (ObsMer, ObsCame, declarative flow, LICADO, etc.) to automate data flow and formats.
Caracterization of fishery practices at high spatial resolution
The second exploratory task will characterize fishing practices on a finer scale to improve the calculation of fishing effort and refine the definition of fleet typologies and fishing strategies. For this, new validation data will be collected by combining high-resolution GPS data with physical data, by equipping ships with probes.
Cartography of accidental bycatch risks at different seasons and for different gears
By integrating fishing effort data (T1), the distribution of dolphins and their feeding ecology (WP1) and the distribution of small pelagic fish (WP2), the contribution of the different compartments will be modeled and the risk of capture in the Bay of Biscay can be characterized.
Caracterization of the interactions between dolphins and fishing gear at individual scale
In this last task, the objective is to characterize the interactions between fishing gear and individual dolphins. The use of a drone equipped with 7 hydrophones, allows to reconstruct and describe the dolphins movements near fishing gear. All the data obtained in this WP will be shared and discussed during restitution workshops to propose solutions and new protocols to limit accidental bycatchs.
