Massive Survey of MSFD-Relevant Projects Underway

The STAGES project (Science and Technology Advancing Governance on Good Environmental Status) is an EC FP7-funded project that is directly responding to a request from DG Environment to put a support action in place to facilitate the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Under the MSFD, EU Member States are expected to assess the overall status of their respective marine environments and to put in place the necessary measures to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020.

From January 2013 to date, STAGES has undertaken a significant survey and analysis of MSFD-relevant projects at EU and Member State level. The knowledge outputs collected will be made available in a user-friendly format through the EurOcean Knowledge Gate and will be used to develop state-of-the-art reports on each of the five Thematic Groups relating to the 11 GES descriptors:

• Biodiversity Group - Biodiversity, Non-indigenous species, Elements of marine food webs and sea floor integrity (Descriptors 1, 2, 4, and 6 respectively)

• Contaminants & Nutrients Group - Eutrophication, Contaminants and Contaminants in fish and other seafood (Descriptors 5, 8 and 9)

• Disturbances Group - Marine litter and Underwater energy, including noise (Descriptors 10 and 11)

• Commercially Exploited fish Group - Population of commercial fish/shellfish (Descriptor 3)

• Hydrographical Conditions Group -  Alteration of hydrographical conditions (Descriptor 7)

So far, the European knowledge collection survey has identified and contacted 1,500 projects (dating from 2005 until the present day) from 13 funding programmes. These projects' relevance to the MSFD is being currently assessed. To date, the survey of Member State projects has identified more than 2,000 projects that have marine relevance.

If you are a coordinator of an EU or Member State project of relevance to the MSFD and have not yet been contacted about the STAGES project, please contact EurOcean as soon as possible: Maica Garriga, Science Officer, EurOcean, E: Maica.Garriga@fct.mctes.pt  T: +351 21 392 4495

If you wish to learn more about the STAGES project visit: www.stagesproject.eu

BACK to top

First FORCE Newsletter: Summary of Activities of the First Year

The National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF) of Egypt are pleased to announce the release of the first newsletter for the FORCE (Fisheries and Aquaculture Oriented Research Capacity in Egypt) project.

FORCE is a coordination and support action project funded through the EC’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). It will strengthen the capacity of the NIOF to carry out research activities aimed at supporting the implementation of sound policies, founded on a scientific basis, for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in Egypt, as well as in the entire Mediterranean North African region.

The first newsletter provides an overview of activities carried out in the first year of the project and can be downloaded HERE.

If you have any questions on the FORCE project or its newsletter, please contact the project coordinator, Prof. Suzan Kholief (email:suzan_kholeif@yahoo.com) or the Project Management Team (email: force.niof@gmail.com).

If you wish to learn more about the FORCE project visit: www.forceproject.eu

BACK to top

SEAFARE Project Addresses the Future of European Smelt

The SEAFARE project held a two-day workshop on the status of the European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) on 26 March 2013 in Bangor University, Wales. During the workshop, 25 attendees reviewed the status of the European smelt across its range, the current knowledge base relating to the species and newly developed rearing techniques that will contribute to its conservation.

Dr. Nicholas Jones, Bangor University, was one of the organisers of the workshop: “The workshop was well attended by academics, aquatic consultants and fishery managers alike.  Speakers from Estonia, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and from across the UK gave some interesting presentations on the current status of the species, with subsequent discussions among attendees on the conservation and future of the European smelt.”

The European smelt, also known as the “cucumber smelt” due to its similar odour, is a small-to-medium sized fish typically ranging from 20-25cm in size. Smelt populations contribute to supporting small-scale commercial fisheries as they are fished for human consumption, animal feed and bait. The historical decline of the species, an estimated loss of 33% of known smelt populations in England and Wales and a loss of 80% of sites in Scotland, has resulted in the inclusion of the European smelt in the UK priority species list in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP).

One of the key outputs of the SEAFARE project is Conservation Aquaculture Rearing Techniques for the European Smelt, a manual which has been developed by Bangor University. Dr. Jones is a co-author of the manual: “The aim of this manual is to provide the end-user with all the necessary information required to successfully culture the European smelt for conservation aquaculture purposes. It will also be of benefit to those looking to culture this species commercially.”

The SEAFARE project aims to promote the diversification of the aquaculture industry by providing a greater range of species and alternative environmentally-friendly production systems. All the initiatives developed by the project are assessed for their commercial applicability through close collaboration with stakeholders and SMEs. The project involves 14 partners, bringing together applied R&D centres, aquaculture industry organisations and environmental agencies across the Atlantic maritime region to promote the sustainable expansion of European aquaculture.

For more information about SEAFARE and to download Conservation Aquaculture Rearing Techniques for the European Smelt, please visit www.seafareproject.eu.

The April 2013 issue of SEAFARE Project News is now also available from the SEAFARE website or by clicking HERE.

BACK to top 

Second AQUAMED Open Multi-Stakeholder Meeting for Mediterranean Aquaculture to be Held in Istanbul, Turkey

The AQUAMED project is organising the second meeting of the AQUAMED Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSHP) for Mediterranean aquaculture (Southern Europe and North Africa), which will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20-21 May 2013.

AQUAMED (The Future of Research on Aquaculture in the Mediterranean Region) is an EC Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) project which aims to develop a cross-functional strategy for sustainable aquaculture research in the Mediterranean region. The platform is being created to ensure that future research and innovation needs necessary for a sustainable Mediterranean aquaculture industry are identified and prioritised by a multi-stakeholder group.

To learn more about the AQUAMED project, visit www.aquamedproject.net.

BACK to top 

Visitors and Residents: Students' attitudes to academic use of social media

University of Leicester-led research has shown that university students behave very differently when using social media as part of their academic learning. Visitors and Residents: mapping student attitudes to academic use of social networks, published in the journal Learning, Media and Technology, was conducted by Fiona Wright, a graduate of the University’s School of Biosciences. Some students happily use social networking to share information about their course with their peers, in a similar way to how they might talk to friends on Facebook.
Others are much more targeted in their use of online tools, and will only log on to get the information they need, when they need it. Read more about this study on Alpha Galileo HERE. To read the full report, click HERE.

BACK to top

UNESCO Policy Guidelines for Mobile Learning

UNESCO believes that mobile technologies can expand and enrich educational opportunities for learners in diverse settings. Yet most ICT in education policies were articulated in a pre-mobile era and they do not seek to maximise the learning potentials of mobile technology. The rare policies that do reference mobile devices tend to treat them tangentially or ban their use in schools. The “Policy guidelines for mobile learning” developed by UNESCO seek to help policy-makers better understand what mobile learning is and how its unique benefits can be leveraged to advance progress towards Education for All.
Developed in consultation with experts in over 20 countries, the guidelines have broad applications and can accommodate a wide range of institutions, including K–12 schools, universities, community centres, and technical and vocational schools. To read more about these guidelines, click HERE. 

BACK to top

Call for Abstracts and Workshop, Tutorial, and Interactive Event Proposals: 21st International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2013), 18-22 November 2013, Bali, Indonesia

The 21st International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE) 2013, will be held on 18-22 November 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. ICCE 2013 will be a meta-conference for researchers in the Asia-Pacific region to connect with international research communities for the worldwide dissemination and sharing of ideas for research in the field of Computers in Education. Abstracts for papers are being accepted until 20 May 2013. Proposals for workshops, tutorials and interactive events are also being accepted until 3 June 2013. For more details about ICCE 2013, and abstract and proposal submission, visit the conference website HERE.

BACK to top

2013 ECVET Forum, 13-14 June 2013, Prague, Czech Republic

The European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) aims to give people greater control over their individual learning experiences and make it more attractive to move between different countries and different learning environments. The 2013 ECVET Forum will be on 13-14 June in Prague, the Czech Republic. VET policy-makers, VET providers, practitioners, social partners and representatives from sector organisations and regions will meet to build stronger relationships and improve their knowledge of developments in ECVET and the other European instruments in education. To become a member of ECVET and to register for the 2013 Forum, click HERE.

BACK to top

VET-Alert April 2013 Issue

VET-Alert is a monthly selection of publications on vocational education and training available from Cedefop’s bibliographic database VET-Bib. The April 2013 issue is now available to download HERE.

BACK to top