Concept

The foundation of the EcoScope project is the use of existing datasets, databases, platforms and maps and the output of projects already funded by the EC and international organisations, their homogenisation into a single interface (a platform) and the development of a set of management tools (a toolbox), both of which will be available in a single public portal. The aim is to fully and holistically assess the marine ecosystems of Europe and the effect of fisheries and climate change on them. Within EcoScope, the ecosystems and fisheries of the European Seas will be assessed and modelled using novel methods and interdisciplinary approaches. Online courses and webinars will be created (an academy) along with a maritime spatial planning simulator using advanced game technology to train users and stakeholders, who will all be involved in co-designing and evaluating the tools (a stakeholder forum). The concept behind EcoScope is to develop the EcoScope Platform where all ecosystem information (meteorological and climatic models, ocean and biogeochemical models, biological and fisheries datasets, ecological models, maritime spatial planning simulations, serious gaming) will be collected and homogenised into a single format and the EcoScope Toolbox that will operate as a decision-support tool by using a scoring system based on assessments of all ecosystem components and their drivers (habitats, species distributions, fishing and environmental forcing, climate change, fisheries reference points, conservation status of protected species, output of ecological models, social perceptions and economic indicators). The toolbox will be highlighted in the EcoScope Academy, with a series of online courses, webinars and games to build capacity among stakeholders, and the EcoScope App, a mobile phone application for enhancing the engagement of the public (citizen science) in fisheries management within the ecosystem context. A Stakeholder Knowledge Exchange Forum will be established to promote and enable the involvement of related stakeholders and end-users in co-designing fisheries management tools and evaluating their application in policymaking through specific foresight workshops. All products will be available in a single public portal, the EcoScopium.