Work Package 5: National research programme analysis

An inventory of the fisheries research programmes funded by each of the Partners was completed and has provided an important starting point from which the collaborative joint calls (Work Package 7 and 8) were planned.

This report gives an overview of the existing national marine fisheries research programs or equivalent national research programs with a marine fisheries component and represents the status at the end of 2007.

To present the results in a user-friendly format, a database for comparing key facts about the research programmes was developed and is available at http://195.10.221.186/index.php. The information can now also be displayed on an interactive map to allow fishery managers to check what research areas are currently being funded by the other MariFish partners, and they can quickly find out which nations are working in a particular sea area. This information can be considered when developing their own national programmes and considering collaborative opportunities. Details of the collaborative programmes of Work Package 7 will be added to the Collaborations section once their details are finalised.

Key criteria were used to analyse the research programmes in order to establish common interests, gaps and possible duplications. Then key areas were identified for improved cooperation, collaboration and coordination by conducting a strengths and weakness analysis of the national programmes database.

A database to hold details of the research projects of the MariFish partners has also been developed. Partners were keen to be able to find details of work carried out under specific topics, particularly when developing the collaborative programmes under Work Package 7. The data has been linked with that of the EuroOcean and MarinERA databases to allow users to search all three databases using one online portal, providing a comprehensive list of marine research projects”.

The MarinERA database contains details of over 900 current marine research projects being funded by MarinERA partners, amounting to over €275m. The EurOcean database provides details of over 750 marine science and technology projects funded by the different European mechanisms (related to either the European Commission or other supporting marine research organisations).

The MariFish database is currently available at http://marifish.addition.pt/index.jsp and holds details of over 250 projects, which were contributed by three MariFish partners to date. The database will shortly be added to the MarinERA/EurOcean portal which is currently found at http://marinedb.marinera.net/ and all three databases will be managed and maintained after the life of the MariFish project.