The 2024 annual meeting of the Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB) took place from June 3 to 7 at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The meeting, chaired by Noëlle Yochum, Antonello Sala and Jon Lansley (representing FAO), discussed the following key themes:
- Benthic Interactions: Examining the effects of fishing activities on seabed ecosystems.
- Energy Use: Strategies to reduce fuel consumption and improve energy efficiency in fishing operations.
- Selectivity: Developing gear and methods to target specific species while minimizing bycatch.
- Human and Fish Behaviour: Studying the interactions between fish behaviour and fishing practices, as well as the role of human decision-making in fisheries management.
- Innovative Gear: Introducing and evaluating new fishing technologies designed to enhance sustainability and efficiency.
A total of twenty national reports were submitted during the event, providing valuable insights into global advancements and challenges in fishing technology and fish behaviour research.
One of the key highlights of the meeting was the presentation of the DecarbonyT initiative by the project coordinator Antonello Sala, whose main aims are testing innovative and optimized trawling gear onboard and tracing the impact of such innovations in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions’ reduction for the Mediterranean and Black Sea fishing fleets.
The WGFTFB meeting served as a crucial platform for disseminating the DecarbonyT project, offering an opportunity for knowledge sharing among a wide variety of stakeholders. One of the most relevant outcomes of this dissemination effort was the mention of the DecarbonyT project in the official meeting report, further extending its reach among WGFTFB partners and ensuring broader awareness.
For complete details about the event, please refer to the official WGTFB report, available on the ICES website.