MSY targets for certain commercially important target species have been identified in the past through the analysis of fisheries and survey data in various areas of the eastern Mediterranean. In addition various bio-economic models have been developed for assessing through simulations the impact of different management scenarios on the stocks and the fisheries. This work will be expanded and updated to assess specific questions related with the implementation of MPAs.

The aims of Task 7.1 are to:

• Examine the impact of MPAs on the overall fishery production
• Examine the effects of different spatial and temporal fishery closures on the stocks of commercially important, as well as, on those of sensitive species (e.g elasmobranchs)
• Assess the medium term economic impact of various spatial and temporal fishery closures on the fisheries
• Evaluate the pros and cons of different management schemes and support the optimization of fishery management.

Task 7.2: Ecopath/Ecospace

Responsibles: Dr Athanassios Tsikliras (AUTh) & Dr Konstantinos Tsagarakis (HCMR)

Calibrated Ecosim models have been used to explore ecosystem effects of fishing as well as the benefits of MPAs (e.g., Valls et al. 2012). This task will further extend the spatial and temporal dimensions of the Ecopath models developed in WP6.

The aims of Task 7.2 are to:

• Explore the effect of MPAs of different size and design
• Explore the level of fishing effort allowed to take place in the MPAs
• Examine various scenaria on spatial and temporal closures for trawler and purse-seiner fleets
• Examine scenario with less fishing capacity

Deliverables

Task 7.1: MSY/Bio-economic models

D7.1: MSY/Bio-economic models

Task 7.2: Ecopath/Ecospace

D7.2: Ecopath/Ecosim/Ecospace, based on “what-if” scenaria