Key results
The results of the European DiadES project highlight the ecological and cultural benefits of diadromous fish such as salmon, sea bream and eel. According to the AZTI study, just some of the ecosystem services identified would be worth at least €25 million in Gipuzkoa, for example.
An interactive web atlas has been created to make the main results of the project available to the general public: the current distribution of the fish studied, both in the sea and in the rivers of the European Atlantic coast; the identification and a first semi-quantitative estimate of the ecosystem services associated with the diadromous species in the nine case studies; and the distribution of up to 2,100 species along the Atlantic coast for two climate scenarios.
The serious game DiadESland was created, an educational role-playing game in which players take on the role of river basin managers and are responsible for implementing a management strategy over 60 years, taking into account biodiversity targets and levels of ecosystem services to be achieved.
Objective
DiadES aims to assess and enhance ecosystem services provided by diadromous fish in the Atlantic Area, and in parallel, the conservation status of these species, by explicitly considering in their management expected impacts of climate change on their distributions. Diadromous fish (shads, lampreys, eel, salmon, trout; mullet) are migratory, moving between fresh and marine waters.
Through their journey, diadromous fish provide ecosystem services (e.g. income, food, recreation) to local communities but few quantitative estimates exist. These services could be threatened by climate change due to spatial reallocation of fish and related benefits.
Building on previous EU-funded projects monitoring programmes, DiadES will positively impact diadromous fish management in the face of global climate change by:
- Fostering the necessary level of cooperation among Member States (MS); actors involved in diadromous fish management to enable sound decision-making;
- Improving awareness and knowledge among policy makers and other key stakeholders on the services provided by these species and the need to set common management measures targeting both anthropogenic pressures; climate change;
- Favouring a joint promotion of ecosystem services related to diadromous fish in the Atlantic Area to the wider public because they influence decision-making;
- Ensuring a sustainable ecosystem services provision by these species, combining exploitation, conservation, in support of Athantic Area local economies and quality of life.
Website
Participants
This project is leaded by IRSTEA (France), and has representatives from Portugal, Spain, France, England and Ireland.
Funding
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG Atlantic Area Programme
