Striving Synergies An enthusiastic view from the Spanish

Institute of Oceanography IEO

by

Pablo Abaunza

What can we offer? Infrastructures, human resources - expertise

Four Research Centres with experts involved in projects dealing with Central and Southern Atlantic waters: Canary Islands (Tenerife), Cadiz, Málaga and Vigo. Three Research vessels with regional capacity (IEO) and one ROV 2000. Other institutions potentially could offer another three research vessels with oceanic capacity (from Spanish Fishery Secretary and CSIC). Four aquaculture plants with semi industrial capacity and one special plant for bluefin tuna aquaculture. Important database from multidisciplinary surveys in Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem area, Gulf of Guinea , Benguela Current, Malvinas-Falkland area and Antartic waters (more than 100 surveys). Fisheries data included in CECAF, ICCAT, SEAFO and CCAMLR RFMOs. Oceanographic monitoring in Canary Large Marine Ecosystem area. Expertise: Working as Marine Research Institution since 1914. Nowdays about 600 people.

What can we offer? Infrastructures, human resources - expertise

Ángeles Alvariño Tenerife Centre

Vigo Centre Ramón Margalef

Santander Aquaculture plants

ICRA plant for tuna aquaculture

Expertise – Working areas: Ocean observation and Sustainable use of marine resources

Identification of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs) in the High Seas. Spain has undertaken, since 2005, and ambitious and costly program of scientific mapping of seabeds in different parts of the oceans. Cases of interest for the Bélem Statement: - Southwest Atlantic: ATLANTIS project, 2007 – 2010 - Walbis Ridge and Ewin Seamount: – RAP – SUR project, 2008 -2010 Monitoring fishing activities, including scientific observers, of Spanish fleets fishing in CECAF area, SEAFO area, CCAMLR, Southwest Atlantic and ICCAT. Expertise in aquaculture of large pelagic fish (specially blue fin tuna), flatfishes, molluscs (cephalopods), etc.

Expertise – Working areas

Ángeles Alvariño Tenerife Centre

Vigo Centre Walbis Ridge and Ewin seamount

Santander Aquaculture plants

Expertise – Working areas

Tenerife Centre

Vigo Centre

Southwest Atlantic VME study

Expertise – Working areas

Tenerife Centre

Example: analysis of observers data from “hook” Spanish fleet operating in the Indian Ocean during 2012. Green colours are positive hauls for a specific shark species. Black colours are hauls that resulted negative for that species. Source: IEO The same analysis could be made in the Central and South Atlantic Ocean

Sharing information – Agreements and Cooperation

Tenerife Centre

Very close and intense relationship with Portugal for the Atlantic studies. Special relationship with Atlantic African and American countries. Agreements and collaborations with: Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Brasil, Argentina, as well as the Caribean countries. We believe that it is necessary to strengthen collaborative networks in which we are also involved such as: - INVIPESCA (Ibero-American Fishery Research Network) - AFRIMAR (Working Network for the Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources in West Africa) - To promote and to participate in proposals from the global organizations such as FAO and IOC. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) established by EU with other non-EU countries.

Key Recommendations

Tenerife Centre

Vigo Centre

Promote multidisciplinary projects under a common research programming, and including stakeholders. Examples: Comparative study of the Large Marine Ecosystems of the Canary Current and the Benguela Current. Analysis of deep sea ecosystems in the Atlantic Ridge, Antartic Ocean, continental margins and submarine canyons. Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. Sustainable aquaculture. Enhance the monitoring program of environmental status of the sea including climate change and of human activities (fishing among others). Develop a holistic network between scientific and technical communities to respond to the demands of marine and maritime science. Reinforce the development of the existing networks INVIPESCA, AFRIMAR, etc. Sharing information and looking for data interoperability.

Strengthen researcher movility and formative opportunities trough specific grants, agreements or similar systems. Advancing Citizen Science (for Oceans). Example the position paper 23 from European Marine Board.