Context

Marine species moving across vast ocean regions are key to maintaining ecological connectivity and healthy seascapes. Understanding their movements is essential for designing effective conservation and management strategies that reflect the true scale of their habitats. By using acoustic telemetry and promoting data sharing at a European scale, it is possible to uncover patterns of habitat use and connectivity across national boundaries, providing critical insights for biodiversity conservation at regional and continental scales.

Objective

To monitor the movements of aquatic species critical to the North East Atlantic via cooperative infrastructure, in an effort to address questions related to major ecological challenges.

Scientific and technical content

• Key species tracking: Monitor the movements of ecologically and commercially important species such as porbeagle, Atlantic cod, mackerel, spiny dogfish, and thornback ray.
• Connectivity assessment: Identify patterns of habitat use and ecological connectivity across regions of the Northeast Atlantic.
• Collaborative monitoring: Operate within the European Tracking Network (ETN) to promote coordinated tagging and data sharing across countries.
• Information: Provide actionable data products to national and international bodies to guide biodiversity conservation and marine spatial planning at ecologically meaningful scales.

Partners and funding

This project is led by the Loughs Agency.

This project receives funding from the Bodiversity+, the European Biodiversity Partnership under the 2022-2023 BiodivMon joint call for research proposals, co-funded by the European Commission.

It also benefits from the financial support of: Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, Innovation Fund Denmark, Research Council of Norway, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Office Français de la Biodiversité, Belgian Science Policy Office, and Swedish National Space Agency.

Photo credit: France Energies Marines