Institute of

SF Sea Fisheries

Projects

Below you will find a list of all our ongoing projects at the Institute of Sea Fisheries.

If you are interested in both the ongoing as well the completed projects, split by fields of activity, follow the links below.

Ongoing projects

A new knowledge base for the management of fisheries in the Arctic (SciCAO)

As the central Arctic has become significantly more accessible in recent years, there is a risk of unregulated use of the biological resources available there. In 2021, the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement was therefore concluded, which provides for a ban on commercial fishing until 2037. At the same time, a joint program was set up to research and record the fisheries resources there. German and Swedish expeditions have recently been able to provide important data for assessing the available resources. However, there are still large gaps in knowledge that this project aims to close.

A physical-statistical model of hydrography for fishery and ecology studies (AHOI)

AHOI (Adjusted Hydrography Optimal Interpolation) is a simple physical-statistical model developed in the working group 'Operational Observation Systems' of the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries to produce monthly gridded in situ hydrography through various decades. Special care is given to a high vertical resolution, in order to yield a good representation of the near-seabed hydrography due to its importance for marine ecosystems. As a case study we produced monthly maps of temperature and salinity in the North Sea from 1948 to 2013. This study has been published in Journal of Marine ...

Achieving Good Environmental Status by Assessing Impacts of Cumulative Pressures

Das GES4SEAS Projekt hat zum Ziel Meerespolitik zu informieren und anzuleiten, um menschliche Belastungen und ihre Auswirkungen auf die biologische Vielfalt und Ökosystemfunktionen der Meere zu minimieren und gleichzeitig die nachhaltige Bereitstellung von Ökosystemleistungen zu gewährleisten.

Alternative Crangon added value (AKW)

The North Sea shrimps (Crangon crangon) caught on the North Sea coast are today mainly shelled by hand in Morocco. We are investigating the possibilities of using a new mechanical shrimp peeling technique for regional processing and marketing of the shrimp.

Analyses of fishery effort in German fishing fleets

The project aims at a better understanding of the relationship between fisheries and population dynamics of fish stocks in order to better predict and justify the necessity of fleet capacity adjustment measures

Assessment of pelagic fish stocks in the North Sea and North Atlantic

Data on population parameters of pelagic fish stocks (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting and sprat) in the North Sea and North Atlantic are combined with catch records and landings statistics and provide input for the fish stock assessments of ICES. The results of these calculations serve as a basis for sustainable fisheries management.

Becoming and being a professor in Bremerhaven - Subproject: "Cooperation professorship at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences with the Thünen Institute" (BeProf@BHV)

In order to improve the recruitment and development of professorial staff, Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences has initiated the BeProf@BHV project. Building on the BeProf@BHV concept, the scientific objective of this sub-project is to test new structures, development opportunities and career paths for professorial staff.

Bioeconomy Monitoring II

- What has biomass use in Germany developed? - How important are import commodities for German bioeconomy and what effects do they have in the countries of origin? - We will address these and further questions in the project.

Biological Oceanography

Factors such as temperature, salinity, oxygen, and oceanic currents shape the environmental conditions of marine life and directly or indirectly impact marine ecosystems. In this project, we aim to understand and quantify these impacts and use climatic trends to predict future changes in marine life.

Collection of economic data of the fish processing industry

As part of the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF), we collect economic data of the German aquaculture.

Development of customized dynamic diversity criteria for the long-term use of European marine ecosystems (B-USEFUL)

Putting Europe’s threatened marine biodiversity on the path to recovery by 2030 requires well informed science advice and operational decision-support tools allowing end-users to formulate management plans and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation actions for biodiversity protection, notably with regard to the placement, size and number of marine protected areas (MPAs). This is in order to protect “hotspots” of biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems, while ensuring their capacity to provide services vital to society and human wellbeing (e.g., food provision and climate regulation).

Development of physical measurement methods for non-invasive in-situ detection of plankton and fish

Within the scope of this project, hydroacoustic and optical instruments and methods will be used jointly and further developed to enable the continuous, automated, hogh-resolution and non-invasive recording of marine organisms in their natural environment. Furthermore, we aim to extend the understanding of the functional relationships of organisms of different trophic levels (e.g. fish and zooplankton) as well as potential behavioural patterns such as the vertical migration of individual species.

Ecology of redfish on the East Greenland shelf

This project focusses on the distribution and ecology of the two commercially exploited redfish species on the East Greenland Shelf: Golden redfish (Sebastes norvegicus) and Beaked redfish (S. mentella).

Enhancement of multi-species assessment models

This research activity will enhance multi-species models (improved diet selection models and recruitment models) to enable best possible projections of stocks developments. This will contribute to a sustainable harvest of fish stocks inside an ecosystem approach. Not only fisheries influence fish stocks but also predation and other environmental factors.

Exclusion of mobile bottom-fishing in the German Natura 2000 areas (MGF Nordsee)

What happens to habitats and communities when commercial fishing stops? This important but largely unanswered question is the focus of this research project.

Fish & fisheries in numbers - the Data Collection Framework

The Data Collection Framework (DCF), co-funded by the EU, allows Member States to collect fisheries data relevant for the sustainable management of fish stocks.

Fisheries economics in numbers

As part of the EU Data Collection Framework (DCF), each Member State is obliged to collect economic data of its fishing fleet.

Future Forum Coastal Fisheries 2045

What are the perspectives for German coastal fisheries in long-terms? This central question arises, when facing the crisis of German fisheries in the Baltic Sea or considering the current developments of Marine Spatial Planning and other issues in the North Sea.

Helping to implement a WASCAL master research program "Climate change and Marine Sciences" at Mindelo / Cabo Verde (WASCAL TI-CCMS)

Climate change poses a significant challenge to African societies within the next decades. Direct effects such as droughts and water shortages will be amplified through increased economic and population growth. To combat climate change effects and maintain the livelihoods of the peoples is thus the major aim of WASCAL. Marine resources will play a significant role in the future supply of protein for human nutrition in West Africa.

Hydroacoustics - Methods, Applications, Development

Hydroacoustic methods utilize sound waves to detect marine organisms. Modern echosounders can not only be used to determine stock parameters but also allow identification of habitat use, species composition and further parameters of marine ecosystems.

Impact of the use of offshore wind and other marine renewables on European fisheries

What is the general impact of the development of marine renewables on the European fishing sector? In our study we will answer this question, highlight pathways for possible co-existence solutions and research gaps and provide concluding policy recommendations.

Implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework directive (MSFD)

As holistic approach, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive poses a challenge to the scientific community: How to describe the state of the marine environment with 11 descriptors? We develop indicators, techniques in risk assessments, and integrated assessment frameworks.

Migration behaviour of tope (HTTP)

It is the largest shark found permanently in German waters and is globally classified as "critically endangered": the tope. Tagging experiments with satellite transmitters in the North Sea will provide information on the migratory behaviour of the animals and thus allow a reliable assessment of the distribution of the sharks and their population development.

Monitoring concepts in protected areas: habitat use and migration patterns of bony fish, sharks and rays (NIKOFIN)

NIKOFIN aims to assess the fish communities in the North Sea from a nature conservation perspective. Particular attention is paid to species that are not commercially exploited and to habitats that can not be assessed using standard fish monitoring technology. Among other things, the project strives to record the habitat use and migration patterns of various bony fish and elasmobranch species in order to assess their respective habitats. This is intended to support conservation measures that contribute to the preservation of these habitats and their biodiversity. The project employs various ...

Oceanographic baseline monitoring: collection and provision of hydrographic data from the North Atlantic (OCEBASE)

The hydrographic conditions in the oceans, which signifcantly influence different fish habitats, vary over wide ranges of spatial and temporal scales based on a number of different physical processes. The Thünen Institute for Sea Fisheries conducts long-term observation programmes to regularly record and monitor the hydrographic parameters and make them available for further analyses.

Re-thinking aquatic production systems

The sector with the highest employment and turnover in the fish and seafood industry is the processing industry and wholesale. The majority of German fish catches already come from few high sea vessels and the vast majority of domestic consumption is imported. Which environmentally friendly production systems of fish and seafood will still pay off in Germany in the future and what structural change potentials are there? This is our guiding question, which we address in inter- and transdisciplinary cooperation between human and natural scientists as well as with environmental and business ...

Risk assessment in fisheries management

Why does fisheries managment sometimes fail? Conduction of risk analyses on various aspects of fisheries management can help to answer this question.

Saithe Acoustics in the North Sea

Saithe (Pollachius virens) is a key species within the German fisheries. Uncertainties in the current stock assessment arise from insufficient catchability of saithe and possibly insufficient spatial resolution of fisheries independent surveys.

Sampling and assessment of benthic species and seabed in the German EEZ (MOBEEZ)

The project will supplement the ongoing monitoring in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the North Sea, as required by Section 6 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG), with a temporally and spatially extended sampling and analysis of benthic communities in the German EEZ of the southern North Sea, incorporating alternative, minimally invasive methods.

Scientific advice in support of the common fisheries policy

In implementing the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the EU Commission obtains scientific advice and awards individual specific contracts (studies). For this purpose, the EU Commission has concluded a framework contract with two large project consortia, covering topics for the Baltic and North Sea and the North Atlantic (SANoBA), but also other EU waters in the North-East Atlantic and outer regions such as Madeira or the Azores (SAF EU).

Scientific studies on the biology and fisheries of the brown shrimp CRANgon crangon as a basis for an efficient self-MANagement system (CRANMAN II)

The CRANMAN 2 project aims to establish and improve the scientific basis for sustainable management of shrimp fisheries in the North Sea.

Shaping Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (SEAwise)

The wish for an ecosystem based fisheries managment is omnipresent. However, potential approaches still lack implementation in Europe. In the project SEAwise we want to change this.

Structural Change in Coastal Fisheries

Coastal fisheries change. Reduced catch opportunities put enormous economic pressure on the fishers. Thereby, fisheries are not exclusively a business. Fisheries is a centuries old cultural practice, which characterises coastal communities until now.

Studies on fish eggs and larvae

Knowledge on the strength of the recruiting year class of a fish stock is of tremendous importance for sustainable mangement. Successful reproduction and foraging of fry are of essential importance for the further development of the stock.

Sufficient offspring for brown shrimp?

Brown shrimp fishery is from the economic point of view the most important fishery in Germany. Our research aims to develop a sustainable and ecologically sound fishery.

Sustainable exploitation of North Sea and North Atlantic fish stocks

As contracting party of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and EU Member State, Germany is obliged to submit national data to the scientific fish stock assessment working groups of ICES and other European organisations.

The demography of fishes

Age composition data for fish stocks are essential input parameters for stock assessment. It is therefore necessary to permanently develop age determination methodology further.

Transdisciplinary science for effective ecosystem-based maritime spatial planning (MarinePlan)

One of the key challenges of our time is to prevent the loss of biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems, while enabling their use by those who depend on their services, goods and benefits. In Europe, maritime spatial planning is one of the most important management processes for integrating nature conservation and sustainable use. This requires tools and knowledge to coordinate maritime spatial planning and the designation of marine protected areas, which are currently often lacking, especially with regard to transboundary coordination and connectivity.

What are they? And how many are they?

Youngfish in German coastal waters

The shallow waters of the German Bight and Wadden Sea serve as nursery grounds for several commercially important fish species. Annual abundance and growth assessments of youngfish allow for a first indication of the level of incoming catches in future years.

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