The coastal fisheries management in Latvia is performed on a national level. BIOR is responsible for producing the annual scientific advice for the management of the coastal fishery. The scientific advice is based on the best available information. Incorporation of additional information of seabird and marine mammal bycatch and suggestions for the actions to reduce the bycatch will help to improve the scientific advice. Ministry of Agriculture is responsible to provide the national report to the European Commission on the level of seabird bycatch observed by fishery and gear type, the implementation of any mitigation measures and the effectiveness of these mitigation measures according to Action Plan for reducing incidental catches of seabirds in fishing gears.
Results in the Mid-term of the Project:
Action C.4. depends on the outcomes of Action C.3. Due to a delay in field sampling, delivery of the C.4 milestone is planned for the end of 2023.
A database for the project purpose was created using the existing BIOR datasets. Additional information sources were identified and a common approach for the data analysis was developed. This approach includes spatial and temporal analysis of coastal commercial fishery activities in relation to the seasonal and spatial occurrence of birds and mammals to identify potential risk areas.
