The fisheries sector faces persistent challenges that threaten both marine biodiversity and the sustainability of fishing-dependent economies.
One of the primary concerns is overfishing and stock depletion, where unsustainable harvesting practices have led to significant declines in key fish populations. The enforcement of catch quotas and transboundary fisheries agreements remains difficult, particularly in international waters where regulatory oversight is limited.
Another major issue is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which undermines conservation efforts and results in significant economic losses. The lack of effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms makes it challenging to enforce compliance, especially in regions where governance structures are weak.
Climate change further complicates fisheries management by affecting fish migration patterns, altering marine ecosystems, and leading to habitat loss. Warmer ocean temperatures and changes in salinity disrupt traditional fishing areas, creating uncertainties for stakeholders reliant on historical trends.
Finally, data fragmentation across different governance bodies prevents the development of a coherent and unified fisheries management strategy. The lack of standardized data-sharing mechanisms results in inconsistencies in enforcement and policy implementation.
Given these challenges, the goal is to develop solutions that enhance real-time monitoring, ensure compliance with sustainable fishing practices, integrate climate adaptation strategies, and improve cross-border collaboration through data harmonization.
Iliad Digital Twin Solutions
Iliad provides a suite of digital services designed to address the major policy challenges in fisheries management, from real-time monitoring that allow authorities to track fishing activities, monitor environmental conditions, to decision-support systems that help enforce regulations more effectively. These systems integrate satellite data, oceanographic models, and vessel tracking to provide comprehensive oversight.
Another key service is predictive analytics and scenario modeling, which enables policymakers to assess the long-term impacts of climate change on fish populations. These models support decision-making related to catch limits, conservation areas, and adaptive fisheries management strategies.
To enhance regulatory compliance, Iliad offers automated reporting and auditing tools, which streamline the process of quota enforcement and ensure that all fishing activities align with EU regulations.
Moreover, the DTO facilitates cross-border data sharing and collaboration, allowing policymakers from different countries to access unified datasets. This service improves coordination between regional and international governance bodies, ensuring a more consistent approach to fisheries management.
Services offered
Fisheries Ecosystem Indicators - North Sea Fisheries
The 'ILIAD DTO-Fisheries Ecosystem Indicators' is an R Shiny app designed to estimate various models and indicators, providing valuable insights into ecosystem assessments and fisheries status. Users can upload their own data, adhering to the format of the pre-installed example data displayed on the left side of the screen. On the 'Time Series Plots' tab, users can explore the estimated ecosystem and fisheries status indicators. Additionally, they can download the corresponding graphs and results in .csv format.
VISTools
DTO for the Belgian fleet that comprises data-driven tools which can influence the decision of fishers and vessel owners in conducting their fishing activities that promote economic and environmental sustainability.
Habitat Suitability Index - Black Sea Fisheries
The Black Sea Fisheries Digital Twin is implemented in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Covering the shores of Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, this use case aims to provide a modern, intuitive tool for the fishermen.
The DT provides access to valuable information, such as favorable areas for specific species, in order to help fishermen to maximize the economic efficiency of their activities. The DT is to identify the favorable conditions for fishing. Habitat Suitability Index (HIS) is implemented to reflect the optimal conditions for specific species. In this specific case, the HSI is calculated for Golden Grey Mullet – Chelon auratus – a highly economically important species from the Black Sea.
