International scientific advice

Where we participate as experts

ICES – International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

ICES is an intergovernmental organisation based in Copenhagen. Its aim is to promote and share scientific understanding of marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic (including the North Sea and the Baltic Sea). The organisation coordinates research, monitoring, and provides advice on conservation, management, and sustainability. Its clients include the European Commission, international organisations, regional conventions, and individual member countries.

One of ICES’s major annual tasks is to provide catch advice (quotas) for commercial fish stocks to the European Commission. Read more about the process from data collection to quota decision.

ICES has a large network of nearly 6,000 scientists from 20 member countries, working together in expert groups, workshops and committees. Nearly 150 Swedish experts take part in ICES working groups, around 50 of whom are employees at SLU Aqua.

Experts may be invited to participate in ICES’s work by a chair of an expert group, but most are nominated by their respective governments; in Sweden’s case, by the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure. The Swedish participation in expert groups is coordinated by the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management following consultations with authorities, universities, organisations and ministries.

STECF - European Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries

STECF is a scientific expert group of 35 members appointed by, and advising, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE). STECF complements ICES advice to the European Commission, primarily in supporting the development of legislation and in policy evaluation. Membership is for three years and appointments are made following an open call by DG MARE.

Members do not represent their home countries, but serve in their individual expert capacity. One of the committee members works at SLU Aqua.

HELCOM – the Helsinki Convention

Efforts to improve the environmental status of the Baltic Sea are coordinated by HELCOM, made up of representatives of the parties to the regional convention. The work is led by a secretariat in Helsinki and is largely carried out through working groups and projects, in which many SLU Aqua experts participate.

OSPAR

OSPAR is a regional convention aimed at preventing pollution and protecting the environment in the North-East Atlantic. This includes the North Sea, Skagerrak and parts of Kattegat. The OSPAR Commission leads and manages the joint work under the convention, with a secretariat based in London. SLU Aqua staff take part in OSPAR working groups.

BALTFISH 

BALTFISH is a regional forum where government representatives, authorities, and various stakeholder groups from EU countries around the Baltic Sea meet to discuss fisheries management issues. The corresponding regional group for the North Sea (including Skagerrak and Kattegat) is called the Scheveningen Group.

These regional groups can submit joint recommendations to the European Commission on adjustments to fisheries legislation. SLU Aqua staff regularly provide support to Swedish government and agency representatives in expert groups and meetings within both BALTFISH and the Scheveningen Group.

DCF – data collection within the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy

SLU Aqua carries out several of Sweden’s monitoring and data collection obligations under international agreements. This includes the fisheries sector, where we conduct data collection as part of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy and the national data collection programme (DCF – Data Collection Framework). In Sweden, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (HaV) is responsible for implementing and coordinating the national data collection programme.