SEAFICS
- Title:
-
SEals And FIsheries Coexisting Sustainably (SEAFICS)
- Start Date:
-
01/08/2022
- End Date:
-
30/11/2025
- Funding Body:
-
Horizon Europe – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship
- Coordinator:
-
University College Cork
- Principal Investigators:
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Dr Sam L Cox, Dr Mark Jessopp
- Project Manager:
-
Dr Sam L Cox
- Research Area:
-
Marine ecology, Fisheries, Human-wildlife conflicts
Overview
Interactions between seals and the fishing industry occur globally, with depredation – the full or part removal of fish from nets by seals, leading to significant conflict. Fishers suffer economic losses due to loss of catch, gear damage and time spent disentangling damaged fish/by-caught seals, while ecological impacts can include seal mortality (by-catch and/or authorised/illegal killing), alongside changes in animal behaviour (e.g. seals may become reliant on artificial food sources).
In recent years, conflicts have escalated substantially, and an effective and pragmatic solution to the issue is urgently required. Using an area of high seal-fishery conflict across south-west Ireland as a case study, SEAFICS combines stakeholder engagement, method development, the application of emerging technologies, and advanced statistical analyses, to assess interactions between seals and fisheries, and minimise conflicts through the development of effective mitigation.
This will be achieved by addressing 4 research objectives: (1) the assessment of the extent and impact of seal depredation in SW Ireland, (2) the quantification of depredation at fishing nets through the development and application of a novel method that uses accelerometers to detect sub-surface hidden depredation events (which in past assessments have been unaccounted for), and (3) the mitigation of seal depredation by applying newly developed targeted acoustic startle technology (TAST) and assessing its effectiveness. The innovative and timely research of SEAFICS aims to address pressing socio-economic & conservation issues both across Europe and globally
Publications
Cox SL; Goetz T; Tully O; Kleyn T; Palma Pedraza S; Hiley H; Jessopp M (2024) Assessing the suitability of targeted acoustic startle technology (TAST) to reduce high seal depredation rates at static-net fisheries using a multi-step pilot trial design. Selected 12-minute Oral Presentation. 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Perth, Australia. Book of Abstracts, p69.
Cox SL; Kleyn T; Hiley H; Tully O; Pedraza SP; Goetz T (2024) Assessment of acoustic exposure & presence of cetaceans around static-net fisheries equipped with targeted acoustic startle technology (TAST) to mitigate seal depredation. Final report to National Parks and Wildlife Service
